The Unusual Suspects
by Bloody-Ban
Summary: A crossover with the movie 'The Usual Suspects' with some minor alterations. FINISHED! (Please read disclaimer at end of last chapter if you're a crossover nazi)
1. Default Chapter

This is a crossover of Darkwing Duck and the movie 'The Usual Suspects'. It will be coming along slowly due to me working and being in college full-time. A bit has been changed or edited from the movie in order to make it a bit shorter and suitable for reading. Ratings may change later. And of course, reviews are welcome :) For those fo you who have seen the movie, please DO NOT give any spoilers in reviews, thanks!  
  
And of course, I don't own any of the named characters from Darkwing Duck in this story; they are all copyright Disney.  
  
The lonely sound of a buoy bell is heard in the distance. Water slapped against a smooth, flat surface of the Audubon Bay in rhythm. The creaking wood of the old dock in the bay echoes through the night air and off in the very far distance, one can make out the sound of sirens. Suddenly, a single match ignites and the flame invades the darkness and quivers for a moment. A dimly lit hand holds the match and a plume of yellow-white flame flares and illuminates the battered face of Darkwing Duck, the vigilante of the city. His white feathers were now dirty, wet and matted while his face drips with water and sweat. A large cut runs the length of his face from the corner of his eye to his chin which is bleeding freely. The trade-mark gray fedora he normally wore had been lost from his head earlier and his cape and jacket were torn. In the half-light, he is revealed to be on the deck of a large boat, a yacht, or a small freighter. The hero is sitting with his back against the front bulkhead of the wheel house and his legs are twisted at odd, almost impossible angles. Painstakingly, Darkwing looks down at a thin trail of liquid runs past his feet and off into the darkness. He looked at the match that was still lit in his hand for a few more seconds before tossing it into the liquid, which ignites into a long trail of fire that snakes it's way across the dock towards the ship docked a hundred feet away. During this whole scene, a hidden pair of eyes, one eye being covered with a black eye patch, watches from behind a stack of oil drums. The hidden person was unable to see Darkwing clearly, but was still unable to turn his gaze away.  
  
Just as the stream of fire is about to his the stern of the docked boat, a thin stream of water suddenly cascades from above, putting out the flame before it can hit it's intended target. At seeing the fire fizzle out with a hiss, Darkwing frowned and let out a disappointed sigh. His gaze shifted upwards to the source of the flame's end, catching sight of a figures on the boat's promenade with a now empty bucket in his hand. The figure was engulfed in shadows, but Darkwing could make out the shape of a wide-brimmed hat and cape much like his own dressing the mystery man.   
  
The figure casually tossed the empty bucket over the rail of the boat which was followed by a listless splash from the water when it hit. He slowly moves down the promenade until he came to the boarding stairs, which he slowly descended, making it clear that he was in no hurry. Darkwing could only watch as the figure approached him, his legs be useless at this point and proving that trying to escape would be foolish on his part. The hero slowly tilted his head up as his confronter stopped feet in front of him. Darkwing's face slowly twisted into a bitter and angry smirk as realization hit him.  
  
"How are ya, Darkwing?" the dark voice asked as the mallard still concealed in the shadows of the night pulled out a lighter from his jacket.  
  
Darkwing hesitated before letting out another smirk and answered. "I'd have to say my spine and legs were broken, Negaduck." He spat the name out in disdain as if it were poison.  
  
The dark caped duck paused before reaching into his jacket once again with his free hand and pulled out a .38 revolver which glinted in the moonlight. "Ready…?"  
  
"What time is it?" Darkwing asked instead of answering the question.   
  
The figure turned over his hand holding the revolver to glance at a gold watch. "Twelve-thirty."  
  
Darkwing grimaced and finally nodded as the sirens in the distance began to grow louder and louder with each passing second. The shadow watched and waited a moment longer for Darkwing to turn his head to the side and close his eyes, whispering his last words softly. "I'm sorry, Morgana…I'm sorry, Gosalyn…"  
  
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!  
  
As soon as Darkwing had spoken his last sentences, the assassinating mallard had aimed the revolver at the hero's body and pulled the trigger three times followed by the sound of Darkwing's body slumping to the old boards of the dock.   
  
Across the dock, the stream of gasoline was still flowing freely. The assassin replaced the revolver into his jacket and opened the lighter in his other hand, igniting the flame. The hand holding the lighter then carelessly tossed the lighted flame over his shoulder and began to walk away just as the flame hit the stream of gasoline. The figure quickly made his way across the dock as the stream was ignited once again and raced towards the boat once more. The flame passed by several dead bodies of FOWL Eggmen that littered the pier.  
  
The flame stream finally came into contact with a line of gasoline barrels in front of the boat. The flames quickly engulfed the barrels and seconds later, there was the sound of a loud explosion which caused the entire pier to shake. The drums of oil erupted into a mountain of fire as the shadowy figure quickly leapt into a small motorboat, the cape he wore flapping behind him. The motor of the boat was barely heard over the roaring flames as it tore through the waters of the bar and disappeared into the distance.  
  
While the dock was being devoured in fire, the only living witness was still hidden behind the oil drums on the far side of the dock, only able to watch as Darkwing's assassin escaped and the police cars finally sped into view. 


	2. The Usual and Unusual Suspects

From this chapter on, any quotations in itallics clarifies narrative dialogue overlapping the scene taking place. Hopefully that won't cause too much confusions. The next chapter will be longer, I promise! And of course, reviews are always welcome :)  
  
A mallard in his mid to late 30's sat on the opposite side of the desk of St. Canard's District Attorney. His plumage was snow white and his eyes were a piercing green, although his right of the set was covered by an eye patch. Although he was sitting down in a chair, his left leg was twisted in such a way that it announced a walking handicap acquired during a mishap of one of his past criminal events. The mallard was Draco Brent, who had been brought in by the authorities due to his past record of car hijacking and fraud instances. But he was brought in not as a convict, but as a witness.  
  
"St. Canard, about six weeks ago. A truck loaded with stripped gun parts got jacked outside of Queens. The driver didn't see anybody aside from a figure dressed in a coat and hat concealing any distinguishing characteristics. But somebody messed up big time. He heard a voice. Sometimes, that's all you need…." Draco confessed to the D.A. and the supervisors in the room.  
  
**********  
  
SIX WEEKS AGO:  
  
"Oh, my sweet darling! I don't know what I would do without you to light up my life!" Megavolt swooned to the small 60 watt light bulb in his hand that he was praising. Just as he puckered and pressed his lips to the bulb, there was a loud crash from behind him. The super villain spun around just in time to see a hoard of police officers swarm into the main room of his lighthouse hideout and yelped in surprise. "Yipes! Don't you guys ever knock??" he exclaimed as he quickly hid the light bulb behind him.  
  
The police officers surrounded Megavolt, armed should the electric rodent try to escape. "Megavolt! You're under arrest and coming with us!" one of the lead officers demanded.  
  
"Over my dead batteries!" Megavolt shot back with narrowed eyes. He then lifted his gloved hands and wriggles his fingers, causing sparks of electricity to dance between his hands. But before the villain could defend himself, an officer pulled out a shock gun and fired it at Megavolt. A clip with a cord attached to it which connected it to the gun the officer was holding shot out and attached itself to Megavolt. The villain looked down at his chest where the mechanism was attached to him and then jerked violently. The device had sent a shock through him, draining him of all his electrical power and energy.   
  
"W-wow…!" Megavolt exclaimed before falling forward to the ground. Several of the officers grabbed a hold of the rodent criminal and proceeded to remove him from the hideout.  
  
***  
  
"Need to come up with a plan to inflict financial bankruptcy on the innocent! The Liquidator's schemes are 99% guaranteed!" the Liquidator quipped as he ran through the plans of his latest plot aloud to himself in his hideout. There was the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him and he turned around to face the Chief of Police of St. Canard and several other officers. "And that 1% occurs when the city's police force interferes!" he added in annoyance, glowering at the police defiantly.   
  
"Liquidator, we have a warrant! You're coming with us!" the Chief declared and pointed at the villain. "Get 'im, boys!" he shouted. The officers responded by pulling out large cleaning sponges and throwing themselves at the Liquidator. Before the villain could react, he had been taken by surprise and soaked up into the sponges. To prevent him from escaping, he was then squeezed out in a large metal container with a tightly sealed lid.  
  
***  
  
"Quackerjack! On your feet now! You're going downtown!" The Chief barked as he and his officers stood beside the child-like bed where the crazy toy-maker was sleeping soundly in his pajamas. His notorious friend, Mr. Banana Brain, was gripped tightly in the villain's arms as he curled up into a tight ball. Quackerjack grinned widely with his eyes still closed as he held up Mr. Banana Brain towards the cops.  
  
"And Mr. Banana Brain says: 'Why don't you leave, Steve??'" Quackerjack said in his second voice as Mr. Banana Brain. The police officers looked at one another and then shrugged before reached down and taking a firm hold of the jester criminal by his sleepwear. While the villain remained 'asleep,' the officers proceeded to carry Quackerjack out of his hideout.  
  
************  
  
"Oh, Dark! I always love going out for our anniversary!" Morgana cooed from across the small table set in the middle of a gloomy cemetery as she stared forward with a smile at Darkwing, her true love.   
  
Darkwing made the attempt to give Morgana a smile in return that didn't appear to be fake. "Err, eheh, right, Morgana! But…didn't we agree last year that we would try someplace else this year?" he queried hesitantly, trying to inconspicuously shift his eye sback and forth at their surroundings.   
  
Morgana blinked and instantly frowned darkly at the masked mallard, placing her hands firmly on the table in front of her. "What's the matter, Dark? You don't like my preference of fine dining??" she accused, her eyes flashing a blazing red. Darkwing let out a slight yep and held his hands up in front of him in defense with a sheepish grin.  
  
"Oh, no no no! Not at all, Morg! This is perfectly fine as long as I'm spending time with you…!" the hero quickly recovered with a wide smiled to win his tempered girlfriend over. The ploy worked. Morgana's eyes returned to their normal green and she sat back down in her seat again with a wide smile.  
  
"Oh, good! That's so nice of you, Dark!" she commented, leaning forward on the table and gazing at Darkwing lovingly. Darkwing mimicked her actions and the two continued to gaze at one another until a shadow loomed over the two from the side. The sudden presence of someone else jolted the two out of their star-crossed stupor and Darkwing looked to the side.  
  
"Oh! Well, hello, Chief!" Darkwing greeted the Chief innocently. "What can I do for you and…" he began, then stopped in mid-sentence as he noticed a black-suited man standing beside the Chief, "…and your, uhh, friend?"  
  
Morgana sighed loudly and rolled her eyes as she sat back in her chair with a bored and impatient scowl on her face, signifying that she was not pleased that their date had been interrupted once again. Whenever the police or SHUSH showed up during one of their dates, it usually meant that their date was canceled so that Darkwing could chase after some felon the authorities couldn't catch.  
  
"Darkwing Duck, this is Agent Cujo from SHUSH. He is leading an investigation involving the hijacking of a truck carrying some very valuable gun parts. We're lining up possible suspects. I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us."  
  
Darkwing's eyes widened as he stood up out of the chair, then suddenly smiled and laughed heartily. "that's a good one, Chief! Is this some kind of April Fool's joke? Because I'll admit, you almost had me there!" he commented with a laugh. When he realized no one else was laughing, the hero looked back up at the Chief and frowned. "Wait, it's not April Fool's Day. You're serious, aren't you?"  
  
"Dark, darling? Is everything alright?" Morgana interjected as she rose from her own chair, a look of concern on her face. Before Darkwing could answer, the Chief answered.  
  
"I'm afraid this is no joke and quite serious, Darkwing. There is word from other witnesses that we have to consider. This is just for a line-up. For all we know, you'll probably be in and out of there in no time. You can help us and yourself out by coming with us now willingly" the Chief explain.  
  
Darkwing hesitated for a long moment. Was this really happening? Him, Darkwing Duck, being accused of being a suspect of a crime? But at this point, he had no choice. "Alright, Chief. I'll play along with this little game. Let's just get it over with."  
  
Before making his leave with the police, Darkwing turned back to Morgana and took her hands in his, looking up at her sincerely. "Don't worry, Morg. There's nothing they can pin on me. I'll be out of there in no time and I'll catch up with you later." The hero then gave his lady a tender kiss on the cheek before turning and retreating. 


	3. The LineUp

I know it took a while but here's chapter three....finally. I apologize it took so long, I'm down to my final three weeks of school so I don't have a lot of time on my hands. Chapter four is underway and reviews are welcome! Enjoy!  
  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Five suspects were being led down the lock-down hallway of the local police station. In the front was Draco Brent, his feet shuffling against the pavement. His left foot was bent inwards and walked with a limp to show that the knee of his left leg did not extend fully. Behind him was Darkwing Duck, keeping his eyes averted from the police officers who stared at him curiously as they passed. The thought that the officers were probably wondering why the hero was a suspect made Darkwing cringe inwardly to himself. Following Darkwing was Quackerjack, who was followed by Megavolt and then finally Liquidator.   
  
The group continued to wander on, being escorted by the guards and herded through a metal door. The five suspects stepped up onto the platform of the line-up room that was marked his horizontal black stripes to signify height intervals. Draco stopped on the far right and the other four followed his lead and stopped in front of the line-up wall before turning and facing the observation window. Draco's voice continued to narrate the event to the District Attorney.  
  
"It didn't make sense that I would be there. These guys were either hard-core super villains or suspicious faces in the city. At that point, I wasn't scared. I knew I hadn't done anything they could do me for. Besides, it was kind of fun. I got to make like I was notorious."  
  
Suddenly, a bright light flashed on from above the observation window and shined on the four. Not being used to line-ups, Darkwing squinted his eyes and held up his hand to his forehead in order to shield them from the bright light. The three super villains to Darkwing's right all looked at him curiously with snide grins on their faces, amused at seeing the hero who had foiled their plans in the past in a police line-up with them.  
  
"Well, well. Look at what we have here, boys!" Megavolt exclaimed with a laugh to Liquidator and Quackerjack. "I knew it would only be a matter of time before the authorities got their suspicions up and threw you in here with us!" he added, his fellow super villains laughing with him.   
  
Darkwing just kept his annoyed glance forward, trying his best to ignore the chides of his enemies. Draco just watched and listened curiously, frowning slightly at the sight of the hero being tormented for the suspicions of something he probably did not do. The voice of the leading investigator from inside the observation booth boomed over the loudspeaker as the witnesses and officers watched on from inside.  
  
"Alright, shut up in there!" the investigator barked, the villains' laughter immediately ceasing as they looked forward, stifling the last of their snickers. "You all know the drill. When your number is called stepped forward and read the phrase that has been given to you. Number one, step forward."  
  
Liquidator stepped forward and held up the small piece of paper with the said phrase written on it. He took a deep breath and then stood upright in a proud stance to display his past salesman confidence. "Give me the keys, you fairy godmother!"  
  
"Number two, step forward."  
  
Megavolt paused momentarily to put on a stern and villainous expression on his face before stepping forward as Liquidator retreated back. In an instant, he held up his hands and shot electrical sparks between his fingers as he shouted insanely. "Give me the freakin' keys! You fairy godmother blaaaahhh!!"  
  
"Knock it off! Step back!"   
  
The electrical rodent and the two villains on either side of him all snickered as he stepped back to his original standing place.  
  
"Number three, step forward."  
  
Quackerjack's turn. The jester hopped forward and looked down at the phrase on the piece of paper in his hand and suddenly burst out into giggles. Megavolt also snickered and gave his frequent partner in crime a playful smack in the arm. Quackerjack retaliated by slapping him back and then read the phrase in one of his many loony voices. "Give me the keys, you fairy godmother!"  
  
"Seriously, please!"  
  
The jester blinked at the investigator's request. "Excuse me??"  
  
"Repeat is seriously."  
  
Quackerjack blinked and shrugged carelessly as he repeated, his playful mood now gone. "Give me the keys, you godmother. What the Hell!" he exclaimed before stepping back with a frown, followed by the sniggering of Liquidator and Megavolt.  
  
"Number four, step forward."  
  
Now it was Darkwing's turn. He was the only one out of the five who seemed nervous. He was a hero! What if he was convicted?? Darkwing looked down at the phrase and sighed before speaking in a flat tone. "Give me the keys you fairy godmother."   
  
Without waiting for instruction, Darkwing crumpled the paper in his hands out of frustration and tossed it over his shoulder, stepping back into line with the others. He shouldn't be here. This was a place for criminals, not crime fighters.   
  
"It was bullshit. The whole rap was a set-up. Everything was the cops' fault. You don't put guys like that in a room together. Who knows what can happen?"  
  
As Draco finished narrating once again, the investigator's voice called once again. "Number five, step forward."  
  
The one-eyed mallard stepped forward and gave a short breath before reading the phrase slowly and deliberately. "Give me the keys, your fairy godmother…" he droned before looking up at the window of the observation booth. Seconds later, the bright light dimmed.  
  
***  
  
Megavolt sat in an interrogating room, having been separated from his fellow suspects. In the room with him was two interrogators and three guards armed with water guns to use in defense against the electrically charged rodent.   
  
"They drilled us all night. Somebody was pissed about that truck getting knocked off and the cops had nothing. They were hoping somebody would slip up and give them something to go on. They knew we wouldn't fight it because they knew how to lean on us. They'd been doing it forever to hard-time criminals and our rights went right out the window. It was a violation and absolutely disgraceful. They went after Megavolt first. He was a good guy; crazy though. Also one of St. Canard's very first super villains."  
  
"So where did you dump the truck?" one of the interrogators asked Megavolt expectantly.  
  
"What truck?" Megavolt asked innocently with a shrug and an amused smile on his face.  
  
The interrogator glared at the villain, losing his patience. "The truck with the guns, fucko!"  
  
Megavolt blinked. "Fucko? Brrr!" he commented with a shiver in response to the cold insult, followed by a low snicker.   
  
A short time later, Quackerjack was now in the interrogation room facing the investigators. The jester had a somewhat panicked expression on his face as he glanced around the room frantically.  
  
"Where's Mr. Banana Brain?? He doesn't know any more about this 'truck' thing than I do! He's innocent! Let him go!" he demanded.  
  
"Later." the interrogator replied, taking a forward towards the subdued villain. "First you're going to tell us where the truck is. The one with the stolen gun parts."  
  
Quackerjack stared up at him and blinked. "I don't steal gun parts! I only steal parts for toys! Well, okay, there was that time where I had to swipe some guns for my line of toy guns that really shoot. But that was a long time ago!" he insisted and then stuck his bill in the air with a stubborn expression. "Besides, I was busy working on my new line of exploding Bo-Bo Dolls the night the truck was hijacked!"  
  
"That's not what your buddy Megavolt told us," the interrogator replied with a smug tone in his voice, deciding to make up his own story in hopes that he could get one of the villains to give something away. "He told us a different story."  
  
"A different story? Is that the one about the Wiffle Boy Womanizer?" Quackerjack asked curiously with an arched eyebrow. "Because I've never talked to him before, I swear!" he added, followed by a fit of insane giggles.  
  
"Quackerjack occasionally worked with Megavolt. Although he was another loony character, when it came to the job, he was right on. Knew what he was doing and worked well with Megavolt."  
  
"You're one of the city's most notorious criminals. You're sweating like a guilty bitch so save us the time. Where's the truck??" the interrogator demanded once again, losing his patience.  
  
"I'm sweating because I'm laughing so hard!" Quackerjack explained as he pounded his fists on the table while he continued to laugh. "The thought of my hijacking a truck of gun parts for no apparent reason! Hoo hoo hoo hoo!" he concluded with his maniacal laughter before he was dragged out of the room by the guards.  
  
***  
  
"Four out of five legal surveys state that everyone is entitled to counsel while being questioned!" Liquidator insisted form his sitting position in the interrogation room. The chair he was sitting in was covered and surrounded by a puddle of water and the guards were now armed with several large cleaning sponges.   
  
"Not this time, pal." the interrogator sneered.  
  
"Denying the right to counsel? It is guaranteed that this will also go on as a stain on this already soiled precinct!" Liquidator added the threat matter-of-factly, making it clear that he knew some vital information to the particular precinct of the St. Canard Police Department.  
  
"The Liquidator worked alone 99% of the time. He was a loner mainly because he was a downright mean and cynical bastard. He was another intelligent criminal due to his days as a corrupt bottled water executive. But he was as conniving as a snake when it mattered."  
  
"You know what happens if you get put in the join this time, smart guy?" the interrogator asked.  
  
Liquidator paused and then shrugged carelessly. "I have to start paying rent to the fine prson life I receive?" he asked sarcastically with a smug grin.  
  
***  
  
"I'll charge you when I'm ready."  
  
"With what?" Darkwing asked the interrogator snidely as he glared up at him. Darkwing never got along with much of the city's authorities due to the fact that they all accused him of being some sort of mysterious criminal himself.   
  
"You know damn well with what, dead duck. The witness claim that the hijacker was a mysterious person and wore a mask," the interrogator lied, looking for any chance to pin the hijacking on the city's crime fighter. "And buddy, you're as mysterious as they come around here. Look at you! You got around in a mask and cape! You want to explain the reason for that??"  
  
Darkwing stared coldly at his confronter and slowly leaned forward towards him. "I don't have any reason to stoop to the lowness level of this city's scum. And from what I hear, it sounds as if you and your precinct are the ones who should be worrying about your own work, wouldn't you agree? Because I'm sure the Chief would have something to say in regards to your 'under the table' deals. So unless you lay off, you can't kiss my feathered rear…." he hissed threateningly before leaning back in his chair again. "So let's get back to that truck."  
  
Before Darkwing could react, the fist of one of the interrogator's associates came ripping through the air and made contact with the side of Darkwing's bill. The hero yelped in pain as the loud 'smack!' echoed through the room.  
  
***  
  
Darkwing is escorted to a holding cell which is occupied by Liquidator, Quackerjack, Megavolt, and Draco. The three main super villains had been conversing and don't even take much noticed when Darkwing is shoved inside the cell with them. The guard locked the cell door behind him and retreated. As the Quackerjack ranted and paced back and forth, Darkwing moved across the cell and sat down on a bench in the corner. Megavolt sat boredly while he listened to Quackerjack ramble while Liquidator leaned against the far wall.   
  
"This is crazy!" Quackerjack whined as he continued to wander back and forth. "Okay, so I'm a known criminal in this city! But I don't hijack trucks! That's not in my resume! But they still drag me in here and accuse me of being some insane lunatic! I'm NOT an insane lunatic!"  
  
"You Are an insane lunatic!" Megavolt corrected snidely.   
  
Quackerjack spun around and pouted lamely in Megavolt's direction. "Now why did you have to go and do that for?? I'm trying to prove a point here!"  
  
"That would be a first…" came the sarcastic voice of the crime fighter. The heads of the three super villains all turned to face Darkwing, who was making the effort to keep his gaze averted.  
  
"Never though I'd see the day Darkwing Duck would be in a jail cell with us, eh boys?" Megavolt smirked before adding, "Did your ex-criminal girlfriend finally begin to rub off on you?"  
  
Quackerjack did a double take and spun around to face Darkwing with wide eyes. "You're still seeing that witch?? Hasn't she toasted your tail feathers enough already??" he asked with a giggle. Darkwing merely growled lowly in their direction and attempted to position himself so that his back was facing the criminals.   
  
"Yep, he's still seeing her! And it would appear as if she STILL has him wrapped around her little magical finger," Megavolt answered for Darkwing. "So what about it, Darkwing? You a witch's wife? What sort of spell does she have you under?"  
  
The three super villains all erupted into maniacal laughter. Darkwing glanced over his shoulder and shot Mega volt a deadly glare.  
  
"It would appear as if the witty Megavolt has gotten on the 'courageous crime fighter's' central nerve!" Liquidator quipped as the laughter finally began to subside.   
  
"Do your 'pal' a favor, Quackers, and keep him quiet…." Darkwing hissed lowly from his corner. At that point, he was getting desperate enough to get out of the cell and was even contemplating doing something drastic. But that would probably end up getting him into even more trouble later.  
  
"So you're suspected of criminal activity, Darkwing?" Megavolt asked, a bit more serious this time as he leaned forward curiously. "Was it you who hit that truck in hopes of pinning it on one of us?"  
  
"This whole thing was a shake-down," Darkwing answered instead, referring to the line-up.  
  
"What makes you say that?" Megavolt asked, once again interested in the subject as to why they would be subjected to a shake-down.  
  
Being an unofficial authority figure of St. Canard, Darkwing knew how the police worked and about a particular precinct's recent corruption. Even the Liquidator could affirm that due to his sneaky ways of going about to get private information. "How many times have you been in a line-up?" he asked the criminals, finally turning to face them. "It's always you and four other dummies. The police in the current 3rd Precinct will take advantage of that and the reputations of shady character sin the city; both criminals and masked crime fighters. If they're doing something that requires a great deal of precaution, they'll look for potential offenders of an every day felony to receive most of the Department's attention while they proceed with their scams. It's police corruption, plain and simple."  
  
"So you're saying that they accused us and brought us in as decoys for the Department?" Megavolt asked slowly as if trying to comprehend the situation. Darkwing simple rolled his eyes and nodded in reply. "But what about this truck they're talking about? Who stole it?"  
  
"To Hell with who stole it!" Liquidator chimed in. "What I want to know is who's the gimp," he added, looking in Draco's direction, who had remained silent throughout the whole conversation on a bench on the far side cell. He looked up at hearing the word 'gimp,' automatically knowing that the term was referring to his handicapped foot.  
  
"His name is Draco. He's got a record behind him but not as bad as you miscreants…" Darkwing sneered.  
  
Quackerjack looked in Draco's direction curiously. "Is that so? Another convict, huh? I've never heard of him before. So how about it, one-eye? What's your story?"   
  
Draco hesitated before looking up at Quackerjack, cringing slightly at the 'one-eye' remark that referred to the black eye patch over his right eye. "I just moved out here to St. Canard a few years ago. I haven't really had time to establish my own reputation yet."  
  
"We've met once or twice last year," Darkwing informed. "I took him in for a fraud charge. You were waiting for a line-up back then, too…" he added, glancing at Draco with a raised eyebrow. "What happened with that?"  
  
"I walked and got a ninety-day suspended."  
  
"So it was you who did it?" Megavolt accused and sighed, rolling his eyes. "Well congratulations, you've got a rep now!"  
  
"I never said I did it," Draco countered calmly.   
  
Megavolt sighed again and threw his hands up in the air before standing up. "Look, we've all been put out by this. The least we can do for yourselves is salvage our dignity by getting back at those pinheaded police officers with a REAL charge!" he declared, extending the index fingers of both of his hands, a bolt of electricity sparking between them. "Now, Quackerjack and I have a lead on this job that can prove as useful payback on the police department and…"  
  
"Don't even think about it, you ego-maniacal electron!" Darkwing interjected as he jumped to his feet. "I may be in here with you villains, but I'm still fight for justice and won't stand by while you carry out a plan of revenge against the city!"  
  
"Hey, I'm just talking here!" Megavolt shouted back, holding his hands up defense at the raging masked mallard. "Besides, it would appear as if Liquidator and Quackerjack are already with me. What about you?" he asked as he looked directly at Draco.  
  
Draco shrugged in reply and answered simply, "Yeah, I'm interested. Sure."  
  
"You're missing the point…" Darkwing seethed as the four criminals all glanced at him expectantly, "Shut up. I don't want to hear anything you have to say. I don't want to know about your 'job'. Just don't let me hear you. I want nothing to do with any of you felons!"  
  
"Forget him!" Quackerjack said, waving his hand carelessly in Darkwing's direction. The four villains all began to herd themselves to the corner of the cell as far away from Darkwing as possible. The crime fighter scoffed and rolled his eyes as he got to his feet and approached the barred cell door. It would be a matter of minutes before the five of them would be released since there was no probable cause to prosecute any of them. Soon he would be out there, away from the criminals, and with the people he loved again.  
  
Megavolt motioned for the other three to huddle around him and whispered lowly to them. "Now, I can't talk about this in full detail here, but listen up…."  
  
"So that was how it started. The five of us brought in on a trumped-up charge to be leaned on by half-wits. But what the cops never figured out, and what I know now, is that these guys would never break, never lie down, and never bend over for ANYBODY…" 


	4. Negaduck

Once again, I don't own any of the original Darkwing Duck characters; they are copyright by Disney. And I apologize that it's been a while since I've updated, I've been busy with finals. But after this last week of classes, I'll have more time to work on this story. And don't forget, reviews are welcome J Enjoy!

______________________________________________________________________

PRESENT DAY

It is morning in the aftermath of the opening scene from the confrontation between Darkwing and Negaduck. Harsh sunlight shines on a line of body bags on the dock. Police swarm everywhere, photographers are taking pictures of the scene while a team of men in rolled up sleeves and plastic gloves pick at the remains. Two men on a fire boat operate a water cannon, dousing the smoldering remains of a burned-out ships hull. Watching this from the edge of the pier is a man in a dark suit, who is special agent Jack Bear of the FBI. He is tall and fit gruff-looking grizzly in his late thirties. He gazes out over the water thoughtfully as a uniformed police officer approaches him.

"And who are you, sir? Do you have clearance to be at this site?" the officer asked. 

Bear didn't even look the officer in the eye as he flashed his badge and replied with authority. "Agent Bear from the FBI. How many are dead?" he asked as he walked along the dock lined with body bags and the officer followed him. Corpses of FOWL eggmen were still being pulled from the water, burnt beyond recognition. 

"Fifteen so far. But we're still pulling bodies out of the water. You looking for someone in particular?"

Bear looked at the officer for the first time, his expression cold and hard. He was not amused. "Are there any survivors?"

"Two." the officer replied. "There's a FOWL agent in the hospital but he's in a coma. The D.A. has the other; some cripple from the east side of St. Canard."

The FBI agent stared at him for a few seconds before turning and quickly making his way through the carnage on the pier, making his way to St. Canard Memorial Hospital. But as he walked down the dock, another charred body was floating in the water under his feet. Only this body had the appearance of a burnt vegetable…

***

It was barely an hour later in the St. Canard Memorial Hospital. A door marked 'INTENSIVE CARE' suddenly flung open and the hallway is now a flurry of activity. Agent Bear quickly rushes through the hallway with a female doctor, Rhoda Walters, beside him.

"Is he talking?" Bear asked as he kept his gaze forward, determined to get to where he was going as quickly as possible. 

"He regained consciousness about an hour ago. He's delirious though; it's been kind of hard to make out what he's been trying to say," Walters answered, panting as she struggled to keep up with the fast-paced agent. 

Was it a FOWL agent?" Bear continued.

Walters finally managed to come up alongside Bear and passed him a confused expression. "FOWL? I don't…."

"Most of them being pulled out of the water were either FOWL eggmen or agents," he explained to her as they came to the closed door of an intensive care room. Walters opened the door and Bear barreled past her and inside. He then came to an abrupt halt at the foot of a bed surrounded by a massive tangle of medical equipment. Lying in the bed was a nearly unidentifiable FOWL agent whose. His body is nearly mummified in bandages and plaster from waist to chin. 

The FOWL agent's eyes instantly rotated upward to glance at Bear. They went wide in recognition as he began to ramble desperately to him. "Are you the police? I need the police. He'll find out I'm here and he'll kill me. I need the police. I will tell them anything they want to know. Please, I am going to be killed!"

For the moment, Bear ignored the ranting of the FOWL agent and began to inquire with the doctors beside him. "Will he die?"

"He's burnt over 60% of his body," a male nurse informed. Bear didn't reply to the answer and moved towards the side of the bed, glancing silently down at the FOWL agent as he continued to bed. This time, he was actually listening.

"I'm going to be killed! We're all going to be killed if he has to do it! Were all going to die!" the agent shouted weakly due to his immense wounds. 

Bear stared at him for a moment longer, unfaltering, and then pulled out his cell phone from his jacket. He began to quickly punch in a phone number as he looked up to Walters and demanded urgently. "Call hospital security and put a man on the door until the police get here."

Walters just stared at him, perplexed. "Why? Is he dangerous?"

"Yes!" Bear answered just before someone on the other end of his phone line picked up. "This is Agent Bear. I'm down at St. Canard Memorial with the surviving FOWL henchman they pulled out of the Bay. Yes, I'm sure he's from FOWL…" he explained as the FOWL agent continued to ramble, causing Bear to try and amplify his voice so he could be heard through the phone.

"Why are you all just standing there like idiots?? You've got to get me out of here!" the agent continued. His scorched hands weakly clutched the sheets of the hospital bed as he desperately shook his head. "He's the Devil! Never seen anyone like him! The Devil himself!" 

"What? I can't hear you…!" Bear shouted into his phone over the voice of the agent. He then turned around and glared down at him with an annoyed expression. "Would you just up? I'm on the phone here!"

"I'm telling you it's him!" the agent continued, ignoring Bear's demand. "I'm telling you it's NEGADUCK!"

The last word had hit Bear like a truck speeding out of control. It immediately caught his attention and he lowered his phone from his ear and turned back to the agent. At first, he didn't believe what he had said. "What did you say?

The FOWL agent glanced up at him again and paused to take in a few wheezy breaths and utter the name again. "Negaduck…Negaduck!!"

Bear's expression faltered slightly before nodding and returning to his phone call once again. "Yeah, call St. Canard Justice find Dave Cujo from Customs…."

***

PRESENT DAY- POLICE STATION

"Have they charged him with anything?" Cujo asked Sergeant Raden of the St. Canard Police Department while they stood in the hallway.

"Yeah, a weapon's charge. Misdemeanor two," the sergeant answered simply.

"When does he post bail?"

"Two hours, tops."

"I want to see him," Cujo declared as he moved past the sergeant and down the hallway. The sergeant stared after him with a disbelieving stare before hurrying after him. 

"Dave, please. Even if I let you talk to him, he won't talk to you! He's paranoid of being tape recorded and he knows that the interrogation rooms are wired," Raden informed as he followed closely on Cujo's heels. 

"This won't be an interrogation. Just a…little friendly chat to pass time," Cujo reassured as he stopped in front of his Raden's office.

"But he WON'T go into the interrogation room," Raden enunciated.

Cujo paused and shifted his eyes upwards as if thinking thoroughly. "Well, we'll do it somewhere else then."

"Oh yeah? Like where?"

As if answering Raden's question, Cujo grinned and opened the door to Raden's very messy office. Raden raised an eyebrow at him before shaking his head insistently. "Oh no, no, no, no! Not in here!"

"If it was a gun deal, then where are the guns?" Cujo asked, dismissing Raden's answer as he walked into the office. "And if it was a hit, then who called it in?"

"That's crazy, Dave and it doesn't matter!" Raden continued in regards to his proposal of interrogating Draco. "He has total immunity and his story checks out. He doesn't know what you want to know."

Cujo moved over to the desk that was covered with papers and removed them from the desktop with a swipe of his hand. "I don't think he does. Not exactly, but there's a lot more to his story. I want to know why twenty-seven FOWL eggmen and agents died on that pier for what looks to be ninety-one million dollars worth of firearms that weren't there. Above all, I want to be sure that Darkwing Duck is dead."

Raden raised an eyebrow at Cujo as if he were insane for even considering the possibility of Darkwing Duck still being alive. "He's dead. They're all dead. No matter how tough you say Darkwing Duck was, no one on that boat could've made it out alive." 

"Two hours. Just until he makes bail…" Cujo declared.

***

Draco sat alone in Raben's office. He was staring forward with a blank expression at a bulletin board covered in various mug shots, articles, and information sheets. The desk in front of him only had an empty chair behind it as he waited silently. The mallard didn't even reat as he heard the office door behind him open, followed by Raden and Cujo entering the office. Raden walked to behind his desk and took a seat in the empty chair across from Draco while Raden remained standing beside the desk.

Cujo looked down at Draco and cleared is throat to get his attention. "Draco, you know we're only trying to help you."

Draco looked up at him and merely shrugged carelessly with a moderate expression on his face. "Sure. And I appreciate that. And I want to help you, Agent Cujo. I like cops. I would have liked to have been a Fed myself."

"Draco, I know you know something. I know you're not telling us everything," Cujo accused with an unconvinced stare.

"I told the D.A. everything I know."

Cujo rolled his eyes and sighed. "I know you liked Darkwing. I know you think he was a good man."

"I know he was good," he replied.

"He was corrupt, Draco. He was just using his vigilante identity as a cover," Cujo informed him matter-of-factly with a smug tone in his voice. "Look, I just want your side of the story."

Draco looked up at him suspiciously before tapping his finger on a stack of papers that Cujo had brought in and set on the desk. "It's all right here.

Picking up the stack of papers, Cujo began to flip through them. "According to your statement you are a short-con operator. Run of the mill seams. Everything you do, you learned from somebody else," he summarized.

"That's been suppressed. Anything in there is inadmissible," Draco replied coolly. 

"I know. That's a pretty good deal you have going there. Total immunity." Cujo continued to thumb through the papers for a moment longer, then sighed impatiently before setting them back down on the desk and turning to Draco with a hard stare. "I'll get right to the point. I'm smarter than you. I'll find out what I want to know and I'll get it from you whether you like it or not." 

Draco looked up at Cujo, his one good eye narrowing in an offended glare. "I'm not a rat, if that's what you're trying to make me out to be…" he stated. He then reached for a cup of coffee he had bee drinking while waiting for the two agents to arrive and took a sip of the hot drink. "Back when I was picking beans in Guatemala we used to make fresh coffee right off the trees. That was good stuff. This is shit, but hey, I'm in a police station…"

"Can we get started?" Raden interrupted impatiently. Cujo nodded in agreement and turned back to Draco.

"Alright. Now tell us what happened after the line-up…"


	5. Plan for Payback

Sorry this chapter took so long to get up. It's been hectic on this end with finals and working extended hours. But now that college is out for the summer, HOPEFULLY this will come along at a better pace. As usual, I don't own any of the original Darkwing Duck characters, they are copyright by Disney, and this was written without profit. Thanks for your reviews!

Darkwing burst out of the police station in a furious rage, Morgana following closely on his heels. Luckily for him, she had heard about what happened and rushed down to the station immediately to pick up the hero. But Darkwing, on the other hand, was not at all happy about being accused of a crime and thrown into a jail cell with four felons. HIM, Darkwing Duck, of all people! Being convicted!

"Dark, Darling! This is ridiculous!" Morgana fumed as the couple stopped at the bottom of the steps leading to the station's front doors. "We should do something about this! They can't charge you for a crime!"

"Just forget it, Morg," Darkwing insisted exasperatedly and shook his head. But then his eyes caught sight of two figured conversing across the street. Squinting his eyes, he made out the two shadowy figures to be Megavolt and Quackerjack. The two villains remained at the mouth of the alley across the street, every few minutes shifting their gaze to the hero. The other four felons had surprisingly been released without any hard proof of any of them hijacking the truck of stolen gun parts. 

"Absolutely not!" Morgana snapped back, placing her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes defiantly. "I'm going to review my spell books as soon as I get home and release a hex on those incompetent officers who thought they could get away with accusing you for a crime!"

Instead of answering her again, Darkwing looked to his right and caught sight of Liquidator tapping into a fire hydrant on the street corner to make his getaway into the sewer. The watery villain lifted his head and made direct eye contact with Darkwing, who stared right back at him coldly. 

"Morgana, please. I really don't want to discuss this right now," Darkwing sighed and shook his head. The night's events had left him frustrated and exhausted. "For all we know, those so-called cops back inside are just trying to look for an excuse to ruin my image in St. Canard. The city's authorities have always had something against me and always saw me as a clown in a mask and cape. Dragging those four other felonious felons into the matter was just to make it more believable. They're going to keep 'investigating' this 'case' until they find something they can pin me with…" he explained, then paused before adding distantly in a quiet voice, "And they just might succeed in that…"

Morgana hadn't caught the last part of Darkwing's sentence and sighed as she placed her hand comfortingly on Darkwing's shoulder. "Don't give up on me, Drake. I love you…"

"They tried to ruin me tonight…" Darkwing added, not taking notice of Morgana's gesture.

But Morgana noticed Darkwing's sudden mood and furrowed her brow in concern. She squeezed her hand tighter over his shoulder. "Drake, did you hear me? I love you."

Darkwing finally snapped out of his distant state of mind and blinked at Morgana with a perplexed expression. But he glanced past her as he watched Draco exit from the police station and limped down the stairs on his lame foot. He passed Darkwing an acknowledging glance as he continued to the base of the stairs and stepped onto the sidewalk, continuing to stagger down the sidewalk. But then he stopped by a news stand and pulled out a cigarette and lighter from his jacket, placing the cigarette in his bill and lighting it with the lighter. 

"Let's just go to my place. We'll worry about this tomorrow," Morgana proposed, once again interrupting Darkwing's thoughts. 

Instead of replying right away, Darkwing stared back at Draco and then past glances to Liquidator, Quackerjack, and Megavolt one by one. Finally, he looked at Morgana again. "Huh?"

"Come home with me, Dark. Please?" Morgana practically begged. She noticed Darkwing's stare seeming to be somewhere else and following the direction of his eyes. She caught glimpse of the four villains and finally realized what was going on. Morgana glared in their direction and gave Darkwing's arm a gentle tug. "Come with me, Drake."

Reluctantly, Darkwing nodded absently and began to move away in the opposite direction with Morgana. "Alright."

As the two made their exit, Draco looked to Megavolt, Quackerjack, and Liquidator from where he stood, who all glanced back at him. There was a long moment of unspoken understanding before Megavolt nodded. The four sets of eyes turned and watched as Darkwing and Morgana disappeared down the sidewalk.

Draco hesitantly walked up the stairs onto the porch of the old, gothic mansion of Morgana McCawber. He stopped in front of the door and paused once again, nervously tugging at the collar of his leather jacket. After gathering some information about Morgana, Draco managed to track down her living quarters. But he wasn't there to see Miorgana; Draco had come to confront Darkwing and deduced that where Morgana was, he would surely find the hero.

The one-eyed mallard took a deep breath before hesitantly knocking three times. He was silently hoping that no one would answer. After several seconds, he began to turn and make his leave, relieved to be able to get away from the creepy manor. But his hopes were dashed as he heard the echoing creak of the old, heavy door opening. When Draco turned around, he came face-to-face with Darkwing; and the masked hero was not very happy to see this visitor.

"What the..? You??" Darkwing snarled. Before Draco had a chance to answer, Darkwing had reached out and grabbed him by the shoulders of his jacket and yanked him inside. Draco let out a grunt of discomfort as he was pinned against the wall by the raging vigilante, his eyes going wide as he was forced to stare into the angry gaze.

"What are you doing here??" Darkwing demanded as he kicked the door closed with his foot behind them. "How did you find me??"

"Considering who your girlfriend is and this is the only haunted mansion in town? It wasn't that difficult, "Draco answer bluntly. His eyes glanced past Darkwing as if searching for something. "Is she here?"

Darkwing narrowed his eyes impatiently at Draco and answered in a low tone, "She's out of town for a while. I'm just making sure the place doesn't get vandalized again. Now answer my first question: what are you doing here??" he demanded again as he gave Draco a rough shove against the wall to intimidate him.

"I wanted to talk to you. The other guys…" Draco began to explain, referring to Liquidator, Megavolt, and Quackerjack. But he was cut short when Darkwing interrupted him.

"I did a favor by standing up for you last night, but don't think that means we're friends!" Darkwing snapped. But sensing that he was losing his temper and jumping to conclusions, he took a deep breath and exhaled before continuing. "I'm sorry, but I've got other things that I need to…"

"They're going to pull a job. Three million dollars and maybe more."

Darkwing's eyes widened. He was speechless as he slowly let go of Draco and took a step back from him. 

"They sent me to offer you a cut because they knew you'd fire off at them right away before they could get a word in," Draco continued, straightening his jacket after Darkwing let him go. "We could use a fifth man, a driver, that's all you'd have to do."

Darkwing remained silent for a long moment before suddenly erupting into maniacal laughter, nearly doubling over and clutching his sides. "Ha! That's a good one! What makes you…VILLAINS think that I'd help you pull a crime??" he asked with an amused grin on his bill as if anxious to hear his answer. "If anything, I'd be STOPPING you four foul felons!"

"They're going to hit the taxi service, St. Canard's Taxi Service as payback for the line-up," Draco answered with a somewhat annoyed tone in his voice.

At hearing this, Darkwing stared firmly at Draco for a long moment as if analyzing every feature in his face, waiting for any sign of faltering that would signify he was lying. "That's not true, they don't operate anymore."

St. Canard's Taxi Service was actually a corrupt string of cops running illegal operations. The Liquidator was notorious for tapping in on such classified cases but this was a scandal that Darkwing had also known about. He had tried to bring it up to the Chief of police years ago but of course no one would believe him. And now it was thought that the operations had ended barely a year ago.

"Megavolt heard word on the streets of an operation happening the day after tomorrow. Liquidator was able to confirm it when he followed the suspected cops involved into the police station through the water pipes. They're also aprt of the precint that dragged us in for that false line-up! He heard them discussing a job that involved picking up a drug dealer from South America."

"No way!" Darkwing barked in response to the offer just as he grabbed Draco by the scruff of his jacket and began to shove him towards the door. 

In response, Draco intentionally attempted to drag his feet. "You have to come!"

"What's with you?? What does it matter to YOU whether I come or not??" Darkwing asked as he momentarily ceased shoving Draco to ask. "I want vengeance on the precinct as much as you do, but I'm Darkwing Duck! The terror that flaps in the night! The daring duck of mystery! The mighty masked mallard of…!"

"They won't take me unless you go!" Draco hastily interrupted, knowing that Darkwing could easily go on for hours with his egotistical ranting. "They don't know me, at least you do in SOME sense! And look at me, I need this!"

Darkwing raised an eyebrow at him. He let out a scoff and once again tried to push him towards the door. "Tough break."

"Don't tell me that you couldn't use this, too!" Draco accused, glowering over his shoulder at Darkwing as he grabbed onto the edges of the doorframe with his hands, refusing to budge. "I doubt the espionage pay suffices for you and your daughter! And you know that those cops are never going to stop hunting you until they ruin your image! We can hit the cops where it hurts with this."

The hero stopped trying to push Draco out the door and remained silent, thinking deeply. Every word the criminal said had made perfect sense. 

"It doesn't matter how many crimes you stop or how many good deeds you commit; they're never going to stop," Draco reiterated calmly, noticing Darkwing's calmer and wonderful expression. "Think about what will happen if they DO succeed. What will happen to you, what will happen to Morgana, what will happen to your daughter?" 

Darkwing perked his head up and stared at Draco blankly. As if understanding, Draco scoffed and explained, "Yeah, I know about that daughter of yours. The red-headed one? I have no intention of harming her nor do the others if that's what you're thinking. But those cops may hurt you AND her, and I don't mean physically…"

Finally, Darkwing completely let go of Draco, who immediately turned around to face him. Darkwing turned away and retreated a few steps back inside. An awkward silence filled the entire dark house as the hero pondered making one of the most difficult decision he'd ever have to make.

"How are they going to do it?" Darkwing suddenly asked in a soft, regretful voice as he looked up at Draco. 

"Megavolt wanted to go in full-force, which means there would be a chaos of super powers and lots of casualties. I said no way."

"What about the other two?" Darkwing added.

"They're both still pretty pissed off about the line-up thing since they were actually innocent for once," Draco replied with a slight smirk, also calming his tone to match Darkwing's. "I have a way to do it without killing anybody. But like I said, they won't let me in without you."

Darkwing nodded to suggest that he was comprehending the whole idea. "You said it was three million?"

"Maybe more."

"And…NO killing?" the hero asked to affirm the most important element in the plan to him.

"Not if we do it my way…" Draco reassured, smiling to himself. He got him.


	6. Payback

Believe me, I'm trying to get this moving along as fast as I can. I'm hoping to have it done by the first week of June, that's my goal. I doubt it will happen, though. So please be patient and keep reading! Thanks for your reviews! NOTE: Since I'm still getting used to formatting, the overlapping dialogue/narrative by Draco during a scene will be in single quotations. Once again, I don't own any of the DWD characters, they're copyright by Disney.

A tall, well suited canine stepped out of the front doors of the St. Canard Airport. In his hand was a large briefcase, his fingers wrapped securely around the handle. He stood on the curbside and glanced to the right and then to the left, as if looking for a ride to pick him up. Sure enough, a police cruiser pulled up alongside the curb in front of him. The man, known as Oscar Whitefur, opened up the back door on the passenger's side and got into the car.

'St. Canard's Finest Taxi Service wasn't your average taxi service. It was a ring of corrupt cops in the police department that ran a high-profit racket, driving smugglers and drug dealers all over the city. For a few hundred dollars a mile, you got your very own police escort. The officers running the scam were members of the precinct that had arranged the line-up to ruin Darkwing's image.'

The police cruiser entered the turnpike to exit the airport grounds and joined the freeway. Two police officers were in the front seat with malicious grins on their faces, which seemed to grow as they noticed their increasing pay with each passing mile. What they did not noticed was a white van following closely behind them.

'After a while, somebody started asking questions and the taxi service shut down. Ever since then, Internal Affairs had been waiting to catch them in the act. And that was how it started. Megavolt came to us with the job, Liquidator provided us with the stolen hardware required, and I came through with how to do it so nobody got killed. But Darkwing? Darkwing put on the finishing touch. A little 'fuck you' from the five of us to the St. Canard Police Department.'

A meaty, imposing looking sergeant continued to drive the patrol car without noticing the van in pursuit. The patrol officer in the passenger's seat is a greasy, scrawny officer who looked in the review mirror to make eye contact with their newly acquired client.

"So, how was the flight?" the patrol officer asked.

Oscar disregarded the question as he handed the patrol officer a thick envelope that was filled with money. "Will that get me to Fourth and Feather?"

The patrol officer removed the large stack of hundred dollar bills and began to count them, a greedy gleam in his eyes. "This will get you Alaska!" he replied followed by amused laughter from the two officers. Oscar timidly kept his stare forward, gazing between the two front seats and through the windshield to the road in front of them.

The car turned down a wide, abandoned street, approaching it's destination. The white van, in response, also turned down the street and kept close behind. Oscar looking in the review mirror of the patrol car just in time to see the white van flash its high beams from behind them. He raised an eyebrow suspiciously just as a green van, as if cue, pulled up alongside and in front of the patrol car.

"Hey! Watch it!" the patrol officer shouted as the green van immediately slammed on it's breaks in front of them. The sergeant quickly put on the breaks, managing to bring the car to a stop before they could rear-end the green van. But there was a sudden jolt as the white van rear-ended them from behind. Two more vans pulled up alongside of the police car, boxing the two stunner officers and the anxious smuggler inside.

Before the two officers could react, shotgun barrels came through the opened windows, one coming to rest against firmly against the sergeant's left temple and another on the patrol officer's right temple. The patrol officer looked out of the corner of his eye and notices the driver, a stocking over his head that barely covered his extremely large bill. The tassels of the jester hat were scrunched underneath the stocking, a vain attempt to disguise Quackerjack's identity.

The green van in front of them had a missing window in the back doors. A sub-machine gun was aimed through the window, another mallard with a patch over his right eye and a stocking on his head holding the gun. The two officers shifted their eyes to one another and instantly held their hands up in the air without being asked.

Megavolt leapt out of the driver's seat of the white van with a gallon jug of gas in his hands. Like the others, he had a stocking fitted over his head, the plugs of his electric hat sticking through the fabric. Moving quickly, he leapt onto the roof of the patrol car. He moved towards the front of the car and perched over the windshield. Lifting up his free hand, the electric super villain charged his fingers with strong sparks before releasing an electric bolt at the glass windshield. The windshield instantly exploded from the pressure. The three men inside the car were forced to shield their faces from the flying shards of glass. When they removed their hands from their faces, they stared forward to see the grinning Megavolt's head staring back at them through the windshield.

"Hello!" Megavolt greeted excitedly. Then his voice suddenly took a more threatening tone and his expression transformed into a fierce glare from underneath the stocking. "Now, give me the stuff!"

The sergeant frantically looked over his shoulder at Oscar. "Give it to him!"

Oscar immediately obeyed and passed the suitcase between the front seat to Megavolt, who instantly snatched it from his hands and placed it on the roof by his feet. While the event took place, Darkwing watched from the review mirror in the driver's seat of the green van in front of the patrol car. To prevent him from being recognized, he was now clad in a dark gray sweater and a stocking covering his purple-masked face. But beneath the stocking, the hero was sweating and trembling, appalled by what he was doing. He let out a short sigh and shook his head in shame.

"Now the money!" Megavolt demanded next. There was a pause as the officer's looked at one another as if wondering what they should do. Growing impatient and knowing their time was running short, Megavolt barked again, "Give me the money, NOW!"

The patrol officer instantly handed him the envelope of money. Megavolt hastily stuffed the envelope in his yellow jumpsuit. The rodent then hopped back onto the roof of the patrol car and removed the cap from the jug of gasoline. He proceeded to quickly pour the gasoline all over the top of the car, the three passengers looking towards the ceiling at hearing the thumping of Megavolt moving around, knowing something bad was about to happen.

"This is crazy! You can't do this!" the sergeant demanded angrily. "Do you guys know who I am?? Do you know who the Hell I am?!"

A hand suddenly reached through the window and snatched the badge from the sergeant's uniform. The hand was dripping wet, identifying the Liquidator who replied snidely. "We do now, jerk-off! One hundred percent guaranteed!"

Quackerjack and Liquidator withdrew their guns from their aim on the officers' heads. On top of the car, Megavolt lighted his index finger as if it were a lighter. He spun around and aimed for the rear of the roof and fired a bolt of electricity, which instantly ignited the gasoline into a mound of flame. The villain the hopped back into the rear van that he had been driving and the four vans quickly sped away.

As soon as the vans were no longer blocking them inside, the two officers and Oscar hurriedly scampered out of the burning car before it would explode.

Later that day, the scene was swarming with fresh police cars. The sergeant and the patrol officer were busy fielding questions from a dozen other officers. Photographers were everywhere, taking pictures of the scene.

'The papers got Darkwing's anonymous call that day and were on the scene before the cops were. The sergeant and and the patrol officer were indicted three days later. Within a few weeks, fifty more cops went down with them. It was beautiful. Everybody got it right in the ass, from the chief on down.'

That evening, four villains and the hero were gathered in an abandoned garage. They were currently laughing and celebrating their recent bust on the police department while admiring the dozens of emeralds strewn about on a table. On the far side of the room, Darkwing was sitting by himself with a look of deep thought on his face.

"That ought to teach those boys in blue to mess with us!" Megavolt announced as he held up a shiny emerald to admire.

"Need to uncover the corrupt cops of St. Canard?? Call on the super villains to unveil the scumbags in uniform!"

Megavolt snickered as he set the emerald down on the table and turned to face the other three villains, a smug grin on his face. "You know what, guys? This could be the start of a beautiful friendship and partnership in crime!"

"Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo! And I say it's playtime!" Quackerjack laughed as he bounded in between the villains. "Let's plan another scheme upon the city!" he suggested. There was a short pause as the four sets of eyes shifted in Darkwing's direction, who was not looking back at them "that is after a certain crime fighter makes his exit sometime soon…"

There was another long moment of silence as Darkwing kept his back to the villains. Finally, he heaved his shoulders with a sigh. "We need to lay low for a while…ALL of us…"

"Fine with me," Megavolt answered with a careless shrug. Everyone passed glances to one another, their moment of distrust blowing over as they glanced at their prizes once again. Megavolt suddenly grinned and draped one of his arms around Draco's shoulders in a buddy-like fashion.

"To Draco! The man with the plan!" he announced. Liquidator and Quackerjack joined in with a cheer as the three of them began to mercilessly noogie the top of Draco's head, who laughed in response and desperately attempted to break free. As the four continued to celebrate their triumph, Darkwing slowly glanced over his shoulder towards them. He vainly tried to smile.


	7. Who is Negaduck?

Yes, you can tell I'm desperate to get this thing done now that I'm motivated. It's finally becoming fun to write. Thanks for your reviews, more are welcome! I don't own any of the Disney characters, yada yada.

Back in the intensive care ward of the St. Canard Hospital, Agent Bear stood in the middle of the injured FOWL agent's hospital room, which was now filled with people. There was indiscernible bickering among the various police officers, doctors, and other SHUSH agents.

"Agent Bear, this is getting out of hand!" one of the doctor's insisted, motioning to the murmuring crowd around them.

"We have to do this now in case he decides to kick the bucket and proves to be no use to us," Bear replied. A woman stepped up beside him, catching his attention. In her hands was a sketchpad and a pencil. "Are you the composite sketch artist I requested?" Bear asked. The young woman nodded in reply and took a seat on a short stool beside the FOWL agent's hospital bed..

"I've got an appointment at noon, Bear," another SHUSH agent pressed impatient.

"Agent Bear, please…!" the doctor insisted again.

"Everyone just calm down!" Bear suddenly shouted over all the voices, the room immediately falling silent. "Okay, before we get the description, I want to ask some questions and get some answers…"

Bear, along with everyone else in the hospital room, instantly gathered around the hospital bed to gaze down at the burned and battered FOWL agent. The agent stared up at them fearfully, as if gruesome images of what would happen to him in the near future were flowing through his mind.

"What happened in the harbor?" Bear finally asked in a firm, demanding tone.

The agent hesitated to contemplate answering before finally speaking in a raspy voice. "We were there to buy someone who had information for FOWL…"

Bear stared with a confused expression. "Buy someone? As in a person? What about the gun parts? Weren't you there to buy guns?"

"No, we were there to buy someone, a witness…" the agent continued insistently in his strained voice. "I don't remember who he was. He was some kind of mutant, an ex-villain." There was a long pause as the agent thought something thoroughly through before continuing. "I'll tell you everything I know. But I want a guarantee of protection. Protection from…him…"

The accompanying SHUSH agent smirked and put his hands in the air, shaking his head in disbelief. "Your witness is whacked, Bear."

"Fine. You'll have protection," Bear replied to the FOWL agent, ignoring his accomplice's snide comment.

"You MUST guarantee me protection in writing or no deal!" the agent 'shouted' in his weak voice desperately. "Or else he's going to kill me! I've seen the Devil and I've looked him in the eye."

"Alright, this is ridiculous! I'm out of here," the SHUSH agent replied.

"Wait!" Bear shouted as he grabbed the SHUSH agent by the arm to prevent him from leaving. They both looked back down at the FOWL agent with a perplexed expression before Bear asked, "You saw the Devil? Who's the Devil?"

The injured man didn't answer right away. It was as if the name was painful to say, or that even just saying the name would bring him his death. But finally, he managed to utter the name quietly. "Negaduck…He was in the harbor killing many men."

The SHUSH agent, who had been disbelieving up until this point, stared in shock. After a long beat, he looked to Bear as if to affirm what he had heard. "Did he say Negaduck? He SAW Negaduck?"

Answering for Bear, the FOWL agent painstakingly nodded his head once. "He was killing so many. I saw his face. I looked him right into his cold, evil eye. I see his face every time I close my eyes…"

Bear stared at the agent for a long moment in case he decided to change his story. "Can you tell us what he looked like…?"

The sketch artist clutched her pencil tightly in one hand and propped her sketchpad on her knee, holding it with her other hand in preparation as Bear discretely exited the hospital room.

"You expect me to believe that?" Cujo asked Draco. He raised an eyebrow from his sitting position atop the corner of the desk inside Raden's office.

"You wanted me to tell you what happened after the line-up, so I'm telling you," Draco answered calmly.

"So you really expect me to believe the plan to his the Taxi Service wasn't Darkwing's idea?" Cujo continued and let out an amused laugh. "He wanted to get even with those cops for what they did to ruin his image. But did you ever wonder WHY he would care about them trying to put a dent in his reputation? He never seemed to before….unless he had some kind of 'racket' going on behind everyone's back himself…"

Draco lifted his head to glare at Cujo in defense to his accusation of Darkwing. "It was all Megavolt and Quackerjack's idea…"

Beginning to become irritated, Cujo narrowed his eyes right back at the mallard. "Oh come on, Draco! Darkwing was an authority figure! Who else would have known about the Taxi Service scandal? That job has his name written all over it!"

"You keep trying to blame this whole thing on Darkwing. It's not like that at all!" Draco insisted, then took a breath to relax himself. "Sure, he knew about it. But he'd never would have done anything else illegal in his life. He has Morgana and that daughter of his in his life. He wouldn't dare take another risk to put his life with them in jeopardy."

"Well, let me tell you something…" Cujo said as he leaned forward and spoke to Draco in a steady voice, his eyes locked with his. "Darkwing Duck has been a mystery in St, Canard for years now. No one knows his identity, where he came from, where he gets his finances to survive, how he manages success in crime fighting, or even WHY he serves this city the way he does! Therefore, no one knows just how good or bad he is."

Draco stared back at Cujo, his eyes never faltering. He leaned forward towards the agent in response, "You've got him all wrong…"

Bear kept his eyes on him for several seconds before passing him a snide smirk. He pulled himself back to an upright sitting position and retrieved his cup of coffee from the desk to take a quick sip. "So, you said you saw Darkwing die? Well, I think you're just covering for him and he's still out there somewhere. God knows how many death-defying exploits that duck has been on during his crime fighting career and came out with barely a scratch. Why should this situation be any different? I think he had something to do with that whole situation that went down in the harbor. My bet is that he's using you because you're stupid and you think that he's your friend. You tell me he's dead? Fine. But I want to make sure he's dead before moving any further in this investigation."

"He wasn't behind anything. It was the lawyer," Draco blurted out casually as he shrugged and turned his head away to the side.

Cujo perked his head up and stared down at Draco quizzically. "What lawyer?" There was a long pause when he didn't answer. "What lawyer, Draco??"

As if trying to change the subject, Draco began to blabber with his gaze still redirected to the side. "You know, back when I was involved in that barbershop quartet in Duckburg, I remember being…"

But he as abruptly cut off as Cujo lost his patience and gave the one-eyed Mallard a rough shove in the shoulder, sending him and the chair skidding backwards a couple of inches, forcing Draco to look back at the agent. "You think I don't know you held out on the D.A.?? What did you leave out of that testimony??"

"The D.A. gave me immunity," Draco answered matter-of-factly.

"Not from ME!" Cujo corrected with a snarl. "There is no immunity from ME! And I'll see to that every criminal I put in prison, every cop who owes me a favor, every creeping scumbag that works the street for a living, will know the name of Draco Brent. You'll be the lowest sort of rat, the prince of snitches, the loudest cooing stool pigeon in the city! Now you talk to me, or that precious immunity will mean absolutely nothing to you!"

Draco hesitated for a long moment, his face fill with contempt. "There was a lawyer…. McIntyre…"

Before Cujo could reply, there was a knock at his officer door. Raden stuck his head inside as both he and Draco looked towards the door.

"Someone's here to see you, agent Cujo," Raden announced before disappearing from the door again.

Cujo's expression announced that he was taken aback, not expecting any visitors. He stood up from his sitting position on the desk and exited the office, closing the door behind him. At seeing who his visitor was, he instantly smiled in recognition towards Agent Jack Bear.

"Jack, what are you doing here?"

Bear smirked in response, "I've been looking all over for you. You still after those gun parts that walked out of that blood bath in the harbor?

"Yeah, I am," Cujo answered exasperatedly, rolling his eyes at the same time.

"Well, you can stop looking. There were no guns, gun parts, or any sort of weapons in trade on that boat," Bear informed and instantly received a confused expression from Cujo before continuing. "I've been down at the St. Canard Hospital all morning with a FOWL agent they pulled out of the harbor. He came to this morning and started talking. He was part of the group of FOWL agents sent on the mission to meet up with an ex-villain who agreed to help the agency out in exchange for a rather large sum of money. He says there were definitely no dealings of weapons involved."

"So the money was to buy this guy's services? This ex-villain?"

Bear nodded. "That's what this guy is telling us. He says not every FOWL agent who went to apprehend this informer knew about the whole thing. Only a few individuals knew what the money was for. Apparently, they were very hush-hush and sensitive about it."

The clueless expression still remained on Cujo's face. "I don't get it, Jack."

"They tell me you've got the cripple con in there that was involved," Bear continued to explain.

"Yeah?"

"Did he mentioned Negaduck?" he asked with his head tilted curiously.

Cujo paused as if waiting for the name to ring a bell in his mind. Nothing. "Who?

Bear blinked, surprise that the agent had not yet been informed. "Bear with me here…"

Moments later, the door to Raden's office burst open from behind Draco, causing him to jump an inch in his chair. Cujo stormed inside and stood in front of Draco, glaring down at him accusingly.

"Who is Negaduck??" he demanded.

Draco's eyes widened and he slammed his fists down on the chair's armrest. "Oh, fuck…!"


	8. Negaduck's offer

I haven't been getting as many reviews as I'd like to with this thing so after this chapter I think I might hold off for a while before posting the next chapter. But thanx to those of you who have been reviewing.

CHAPTER 8

A couple of days after the end was brought upon the Taxi Service, the four villains and the hero were once again gathered together in the abandoned warehouse. Darkwing stood, pacing frantically, while the other four watched tentatively from their sitting positions on various boxes and crates.

"It doesn't matter where I go. Ever since we hit the Taxi Service, there's been cops constantly on my tail!" Darkwing exclaimed and threw his hands in the air exasperatedly. The four criminals calmly watched him.

"Welcome to our world, Darkwing," Megavolt commented with a snicker.

Darkwing spun around to face him, an agitated expression on his face. "I know they've been following the four of you around, too! Don't you find that just the least bit odd??"

Megavolt paused and if pondering the question hard, then finally answered with a grin on his face. "Nope!" Liquidator and Quackerjack snickered to one another as Darkwing sighed and retreated. Draco merely shook his head and absently glanced downward at the floor.

"You guys are known felons! Going to jail is nothing new to you! And you don't have anything to lose!" Darkwing explained frantically. "I've got a life! I'm not going to jail for some act you pulled!"

At this point, Quackerjack's eyes went wide and he jumped to his feet with a glower. "Hey! You had a part in it, too! If we go down, you're going to come down with us! Besides, who could have the knowledge to be following us?? No one even witnessed that crime and could pin it on us!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of a sixth party clearing his throat from the shadows on the far side of the small warehouse. All eyes instantly turned to face the newcomer, who was a tall, skinny mallard with a long chin and orange hair, somewhat resembling a thinner version of Launchpad. He wearing a business suit and carried a briefcase, giving him a professional appearance.

"Mr. Darkwing?" the man asked, his voice carrying an authorities tone to it. Darkwing stared back and remained silent in reply as the other four exchanged puzzled expressions. "I am Mr. McIntyre. I have been asked by my employer to bring a proposal to you gentleman," he explained and looked each of them over one by one as he continued. "that must be the Liquidator. I recognize Quackerjack from his mug shots as well as Megavolt. And you must be Mr. Brent," he finished with a look towards Draco who did not reply.

The five all looked from one another, shocked and confused as to how this new person could know so much. Finally, Darkwing cleared his throat and spoke up in a low voice, somewhat timid voice. "What can we do for you?"

McIntyre stepped forward to approach them, stopping a short distance away from his own safety. "My employer requires your services. One day's work, very dangerous. He does not expect all of you to live, but those who do survive will have ninety-one million dollars to divide amongst yourselves however you see fit."

"Oh yeah?" Darkwing asked with a sudden amused smirk s he folded his arms over his chest. "Yeah, right. Who's your boss?"

There was a long pause as if McIntyre was considering whether or not to reveal the information. "I work for Negaduck."

A strange look crossed Darkwing's face as soon as he heard the name. It showed skepticism, mockery, and a hint of fear. Liquidator, Megavolt, and Quackerjack all seemed to fidget in their seats, sharing similar looks. The only one who appeared to be unaware was Draco, who immediately noticed the change in the atmosphere.

"I'm sure you've heard many tall tales, myths, and legends about Negaduck. And I can assure you gentleman that most of them are true," McIntyre continued.

"Who's Negaduck?" Draco suddenly asked, no longer wanting to remain in the dark on the subject.

McIntyre noticed the uneasy expressions on the faces of the other four and turned to Draco. "Judging my the sudden change in mood, I am sure that the rest of your associates can tell you, Mr. Brent. I have come directly from Negaduck with an offer, An order, actually."

"And order?" Darkwing asked suspiciously, the uneasiness still present in his tone.

"In nineteen ninety-one, Darkwing, you participated in the interception of a hijacked truck carrying stolen raw steel. The steel belonged to Negaduck and was destined to him to be used in a nuclear reactor. You had no way of knowing this because the criminal who was driving the truck was working for Negaduck without his knowledge." McIntyre explained, then turned to face Megavolt and Quackerjack. "Earlier this year, Megavolt and Quackerjack hijacked a twin-prop cargo flight out of the St. Canard Airport carrying platinum gold wiring, also set for Negaduck's possession."

Now the man turned his gave to the Liquidator, who stared back at him almost challengingly as if interested in what McIntyre was going to say about him. "Recently, the Liquidator stole a truck carrying gun parts through downtown St. Canard…"

Immediately, all eyes were on Liquidator as they realized it was him who had stolen the truck they were brought in on the line-up for. The watery villain merely smiled guiltily and shrugged as McIntyre continued. "The gun parts were allegedly set to be destroyed by the city. They were set to 'be lost' at a weigh station and routed back to Negaduck. Again, Negaduck used pawns that had no knowledge. One cannot be betrayed if one has no persons. Which brings us to Mr. Brent…" he concluded and stared in Draco's direction, who seemed to crumple under the lawyer's hard stare.

"Nine months ago, one of Negaduck's less than intelligent couriers was taken in a complicated confidence scam….by a cripple. He was relieved of sixty-two thousand dollars," he explained and then paused to feel the tension in the air. "Now, it has taken us some time to find out. Our original intention was to approach you after your apprehension earlier."

"YOU set up the line-up…." Darkwing concluded with narrowed eyes at McIntyre, who nodded in reply.

"Yes. You were not to be released until I had come to see you. It seems that Darkwing's 'partner', Morgana McCawber, was a bit too effective in expediting his release. Holding the rest of you proved to be a moot point."

"So why are you telling us?" Liquidator spoke up in question. "Nine out of ten marine biologists say that this smells fishy!"

McIntyre raised an eyebrow at the Liquidator, having been warned about his antic in speech. When he replied, his voice was low and dark, almost threatening. "Because you have stolen from Negaduck. The fact that you did not know you stole for him is the only reason you are still alive. He feels that you owe him, and you WILL repay your debt."

"How do WE know that YOU work for Negaduck?" Megavolt suddenly asked suspiciously.

Instead of answering Megavolt's question, McIntyre continued to explain the reason for his visit. "The off is this, gentleman. Negaduck's primary interest, as you all might have noticed, is weaponry and artillery. He has been competing, shall we say, for the past several years with the Fiendish Organization for World Larceny, also known as FOWL. Their competing with Negaduck has finally taken it's toll. FOWL is negotiating the sale of ninety-one million dollars worth of guns and other artillery in three days time here in St. Canard. Needless to say, this purchase will revitalize the diminishing strength of their organization. Negaduck wants you to stop the deal. If you choose, you may wait until the buy. Whatever money changes hands is yours. The transaction will take place on a boat that will be in the Audubon Bay docks. Negaduck wants you to get to the boat and destroy the weapons on board. Then you will be free from your obligations of Negaduck."

Once the explanation of the plan was complete, Darkwing lowered his head and wandered silently over to McIntyre, stopping just inches from his face and hissed lowly. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't arrest you right now…"

McIntyre just smiled in response and held up the briefcase he had been carrying. "A gift from Negaduck," he informed before placing the briefcase on top of the small table to his side. Without another word, he turned and made his exit from the hideout.

Darkwing waited until the lawyer had left and glanced down suspiciously at the briefcase, wondering if it was booby trapped or concealed some sort of bomb. He leaned down and pressed the side of his head against it to listen carefully for any sound of ticking. Nothing. Finally coming to a decision, the masked mallard ran his hands along the side of the briefcase and flipped open the clasps holding it shut. They clicked open and Darkwing opened the case. Inside were five large manila envelopes, each of their names on one of the envelopes. Curiosity getting the better of them, the other four stood up from their sitting positions and wandered to the table, gathering around.

With a perplexed expression, Darkwing slowly removed the envelopes one by one, handing them to their owners. The one on the bottom was his, marked 'Darkwing'. He gave a sigh of relief, knowing that his identity was safe. When he opened up the envelope, he pulled out a large stack of papers and files with photos inserts. His eyes instantly widened.

"No…" the hero whispered in disbelief and shook his head. He glanced up to glance at the others, who were still staring down at their unopened envelopes that had their names on them. "Open them…" Darkwing urged.

The villains obeyed and each of them opened their envelopes. They withdrew similar stacks of papers and photos, which they thumbed through curiously and amazed. Mug shots and criminal records included in the four villains' files.

"Wow, they know everything…" Megavolt finally spoke up. "They have my whole life in here. Everything that I've done since I became a criminal when I was eighteen." Darkwing groaned and rolled his eyes, having been there for Megavolt's debut into the criminal world.

"Yeah. There's everybody I've worked with and everybody I've done time with," Quackerjack added as he dropped his papers onto the table.

Darkwing set the papers down on the table and removed a small stack of black and white photos from the envelope; photos of him and Morgana, photos of him and Gosalyn, photos of him as Drake Mallard. The mallard's eyes instantly widened as he thumbed through each of the photos. Before the others could see them, he quickly replaced them back into the envelope and let out a deep sigh, shaking his head slowly. "This is not right…"

"I don't know. I think I've heard of a guy who worked for Negaduck at one time," Quackerjack announced hesitantly. "Then I heard he died a horrible and painful death! It was worse than being tickled to death!"

"Oh, come on!" Megavolt scoffed and threw his file up in the air. The papers fluttered about to the ground, which seemed to arouse a playful attitude in Quackerjack who began to bounce excitedly through the snowing papers with insane giggles. Draco raised an eyebrow at the insane jester's antics as Megavolt continued. "This guy is just a hoax. McIntyre is just using him as a cover."

Liquidator stuck his index finger in the air declaratively. "Three out of five surveys suspect police involvement!"

"The way I hear it is that Negaduck is some kind of butcher…" Megavolt began, but was suddenly cut off as Darkwing slammed his hands down on the table with an intense glare.

"There is no Negaduck!"

Draco, who had remained relatively silent throughout the whole scene, darted his eyes from one person to the other, searching for an answer. Finally, he brought himself to ask once again. "Who is Negaduck…?"


	9. His Story

Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing. Once again, single quotations signify narrative of the scene taking place. Molly Dove appears in this chapter courtesy of Amanda Raymond and was used with her permission. Original Darkwing Duck characters are copyright Disney.

CHAPTER 9

"Some believe he's not from around, as in from another country," Draco explained to Cujo who was watching tentatively, hanging onto his every word. "Some even believed he was from another planet or universe because of his demonic demeanor. So no one really knows where he came from. Nobody ever saw him or knew anybody who worked directly for him. From the way McIntyre told it, anybody could have worked for Negaduck. You just never knew and that was his power."

Draco paused to inhale a deep breath before looking up at Cujo, straight in his eyes. "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. One story the guys told me, which is the story I believe, was from his earlier days as a crime lord. Even then he was in competition with FOWL, constantly fighting for the public enemy position. Back then, both FOWL and Negaduck were both on the rise in their criminal careers and as FOWL began to rise into power, they decided to muster enough courage to come after Negaduck..."

Four FOWL eggmen and one of their prestigious agents suddenly burst through the steel door of an old warehouse, Negaduck's hideout. A young, blonde female mallard was the only one occupying the hideout at the time and has been busily loading a large rifle. She spun around at the sound of the door crashing in, her eyes going wide in recognition towards the trespassers.

"You?!" Molly raged in fury as she quickly cocked the gun she had been holding. But before she had a chance to aim, one of the eggmen had rushed at her and knocked the rifle from her hands, followed by delivering a swift smack to her face that sent her sprawling to the ground. The agent leading the raid was none other than Steelbeak, dressed in his white and black Italian suit who laughed cruelly as he watched Molly fall to the ground.

"Tsk tsk tsk! I thought youse woulda learned yer lesson by now, Mol!" Steelbeak mocked as he circled the fallen mallard like a vulture. "Youse should know by now dat NO ONE betrays FOWL! Not even a top espionage agent who left to join da public enemy!"

'Molly Dove was once a top espionage agent for FOWL. Needless to say, she didn't like her job. During one of her missions, she ran into Negaduck who recognized her full potential and decided to put it to better use. So she decided to leave FOWN and joined Negaduck. The two embarked on a reign of terror throughout various city's and became a notorious duo of destruction. It wasn't long before the two became romantically involved, which instantly caught FOWL's attention. The Organization wasn't pleased with Molly's betrayal to join Negaduck, so they planned to kill two birds with one stone. They discover the location of their hideout and decide to confront the two felons in the middle of the afternoon. Negaduck was out on one of his crime sprees, leaving Molly behind to watch the hideout.'

Molly groaned weakly as she placed her hands firmly on the cold cement of the warehouse floor and slowly lifted herself up to glare at her confronter. When her vision cleared and she made out the form of her former supervising agent, her bill twisted into a sneer, hissing hatefully. "Steelbeak…When Negaduck gets back, he's going to…!"

But she was cut off as Steelbeak lashed his hand out at her, striking her across the face once again. "When he gets back, he's going ta be one dead duck!" he finished, followed by his trademark cackle. "Since Mr. Numero Uno seems at be out at dis time, we might as well make ourselves comfy and await his return!"

The two of the eggmen circled around Molly, each of them grabbing her by one of her shoulders and pulling her roughly to her feet. Their firm roughness sent shocks of pain surging through her body and to her head as she struggled to make the room stop spinning. Steelbeak sat down in Negaduck's trademark leather chair at the far side of the room and smirked wickedly in Molly's direction as he made himself comfortable. "Have fun wit her, boys!"

The eggmen grinned anxiously, two of them still holding Molly in place as the third eggmen walked around to stand in front of her, rubbing his hands together anxiously.

About an hour later, Steelbeak perked his head up at the sound of a motorcycle roaring outside and coming to a stop alongside the warehouse. The rooster grinned, "He's here…"

Moments later, the black masked mallard kicked the door to the warehouse open and stormed inside. His eyes instantly narrowed as he took in the scene before him: Steelbeak sitting in his chair while Molly was beaten, bruised, and violated. The eggmen held Molly captive in their grasps, one of them holding a gun to her head. Dark bruised her visible on her white feathers and her hair was matted. Blood dripped from the corner of her bill as she weakly lifted her head and her eyes fluttered open, staring fearfully and gratefully in Negaduck's direction as he entered.

Negaduck took noticed of Molly's dress being torn, then passed a hateful glower in Steelbeak's direction, who rose out of the chair to greet him. "Well well, it isn't da almighty Negaduck…"

'He came back to his hideout to find that FOWL present in his hideout and Molly sexually abused and beaten. FOWL knew that Negaduck was tough, not to be trifled with. So they let him know that they meant business."

"Cut to the chase, Steelbeak…" Negaduck growled threateningly, causing the three eggmen to visible cringe in intimidation. "We both know why you're here, so let's get down to business…"

'Steelbeak tells Negaduck that FOWL wants his criminal territory and his surrender to FOWL. It was also declared that Molly would be forced to return to the organization while Negaduck would most likely be used to their advantage. It didn't take Negaduck long to come to his decision. He looked over and saw the scarred expression on Molly's face….and then he showed these men of will what will really was…'

Negaduck glared long and hard at Steelbeak before suddenly pulling out a pistol from his yellow jacket. His cape flapped behind him as he spun to face the three eggmen still holding Molly captive. Three gunshots exploded into the air, hitting each of the eggmen in the chest. As the bodies thumped to the floor motionless, Steelbeak's eyes instantly widened as he rushed over and grabbed a hold of Molly's wrist, giving her a hard yank towards him. The rooster reached into his jacket and pulled out his own gun, pressing it firmly against Molly's head. She let out a weak gasped and whimpered in Steelbeak's hard grasp.

"What are youse going to do now, huh??" Steelbeak challenged Negaduck, pressing the gun hard into Molly's temple. Negaduck had his gun sighted for the center of Steelbeak's forehead. Then, his eyes locked with Molly's eyes. Her gaze was filled with fear, desperation, and trauma. There was a long pause before she choked on another sob and slowly nodded to her partner.

Suddenly, Negaduck's aim shifted and lowered before a shot echoed through the hideout. The bullet tore through the air until it hit its mark. Steelbeak stared in pure shock as Molly fell from his arms and slumped to the floor, no longer breathing.

'He tells Steelbeak that he would rather see her dead than make her have to live another day after this. He let Steelbeak go to relay his message to the higher powers of FOWL, waits until Molly is in the ground, and then begins his reign of terror upon FOWL. He begins to pinpoint major secret bases and takes them out one by one. He then targets their top agents and wipes them off of the face of the earth.'

A FOWL base suddenly exploded in the night. Alarms sounded as dozens of FOWL agents and eggmen fled the burning building while the shrieks of those who remained inside echoed in the air. The dark, looming figure of a mallard in a fedora and cape walks in front of the wall of fire, putting distance between him and the burning building. The waves in the air from the intense heat blur his face, but his flashing eyes shine through the darkness.

"And like that, he's gone," Draco concluded the story with a wave of his hand. "He's gone, underground, and no one has ever seen him again. He becomes a myth or a spook story that criminals tell their kids at night. 'If you rat on your pop, Negaduck will come to get you.' And no one ever really believes."

Cujo had barely moved during the whole story, never once taken his gaze off of Draco. "Do you believe in him, Draco?"

Draco looked up at Cujo as if the question he had asked had an answer that was painfully obvious. "Darkwing once said, 'I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid him.' Well, I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Negaduck."

"Uh huh," Cujo replied with a snide smirk. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the desk, an unbelieving expression on his face. Draco immediately noticed his look and narrowed his eyes impatiently.

"Hey, I cam clean! I told it like it happened while I was on the boat. So what if I left out how I got there? You got what you wanted out of me so big deal…!"

"Turn state's evidence. Take the stand on this and we'll hear you out."

"I've got immunity now. What can you possibly offer me?" Draco argued as if sounding interested to hear the agent's answer.

Cujo grinned slyly as he answered matter-of-factly. "If there really is a Negaduck, he'll be looking for you."

Draco pauses before letting out a snide laugh in response. "Where's your head, Agent Cujo? Where do you think all the pressure is coming from? Negaduck, or whatever you want to call him, he knows where I am RIGHT NOW. He's got the front burner under your ass to let me go so he can scoop me up ten minutes later. Immunity was just a deal with YOU assholes. I've got a whole new problem when I post bail."

"So why play into his hands?" Cujo asked with a shrug. "We can protect you. He can't run forever."

"You think you can catch Negaduck? You think a guy like that comes this close to getting caught and sticks his head out?" Draco asked as he raised an eyebrow knowingly in his direction. He heaved his shoulders and shook his head, almost sadly, before continuing. "If he comes up for anything, it will be for getting rid of me. And after that? My guess is you'll never hear from him again."


	10. Once Five, Now Four

I was debating between splitting this into two shorter chapters or just keeping them together in a medium sized chapter. But I voted for the latter, so here it is. I'm estimating about five chapters left in this story, give or take a chapter or two. I don't own any of the original Darkwing Duck characters, Disney does and all that junk. Thanks for your reviews!

CHAPTER 10

"And that was how I ended up in the barbershop quartet in Duckburg."

Cujo sighed impatiently and rolled his eyes. "This is completely irrelevant. Quit stalling, Draco!" he demanded angrily and looked him hard in the eyes. "So what happened next?"

Draco took a drink of his already cooling coffee before heaving his shoulders and continuing with his story. "We woke up the next morning and Quackerjack was gone. He couldn't handle the idea of us slumming for Negaduck. He left a note wishing us good luck and took a chumk of the money we had scraped together."

"Oh yeah? And then what?" the agent asked as a tone of boredom began to rise in his voice.

"Megavolt was furious," Draco answered simply with a shrug. "He was talking about tracking him down and ripping his heart out and all sorts of shit. That night we got the call."

"What call?" Cujo suddenly asked, his curiosity suddenly perked once again.

"McIntyre told us where we could find Quackerjack…"

-BEACH: NIGHT-

Waves lapped against the rocky shores of the beach of the Audubon Bay in the night. The lights of St. Canard were faint, announcing the distance between the beach and the city. The mangled and bloodied body of what used to be a white duck laid crudely at the mouth of a cave in the sand. Megavolt kneeled in the sand beside what used to be his partner in crime. The jester suit the deceased avian wore was torn and stained red, the normal white plumage bruised and bloodied.

Darkwing heaved his shoulders as he glanced out towards the bay. There was an incredibly long moment of silence before he muttered lowly in question. "What do you want to do with him?"

Megavolt struggled to hold back the flicker of emotion fighting rise inside of him as he stared down at his friend's body that had been peppered with bullet holes. "I worked for five years with Quackerjack. More money, more jobs than I can count…" the sullen villain answered instead. "I want to bury him."

"There's no time, Megavolt," Darkwing replied as he turned around to face the rodent.

Megavolt instantly sprang to his feet and stormed across the sand towards the masked mallard. He poked him in the chest threateningly, "You will MAKE time. You're not the only one with a busy schedule, Dirtwing!"

"We don't have any shovels with a money back guarantee," Liquidator finally spoke up.

"Then we'll use our hands!"

Without waiting for another response, Megavolt retreated back to his dead companion and slumped to his knees in the sand once more. He began to hastily shovel sand in his hands beside the unmoving body. Surprisingly, Darkwing marched over to his arch enemy and kneeled down beside him to aid in his task. Seconds later, Draco limped over to them and joined them, weakly shoveling sand aside. Knowing his efforts would be useless, Liquidator remained at the mouth of the cave to keep watch.

"He's going to pay…"

Darkwing paused his digging momentarily to glance up at Megavolt, whose voice he recognized. "Excuse me?"

"This Negaduck guy, he's going to pay…" Megavolt repeated bitterly.

"Don't be insane Megs," Darkwing groaned and shook his head.

"It's PAYBACK."

"It's NOT payback!" Darkwing suddenly snapped insistently. Megavotl continued to dig, despite his outburst. Draco ceased digging to glance at Darkwing, both puzzled and taken aback as he continued. "You want payback? You want to run? I don't care. I'm going to finish this thing. Not for Quackerjack, not for anybody else, especially the likes of you villains! But for me...This McIntyre guy isn't going to intimidate Darkwing Duck…" he demanded and then paused before adding bitterly. "All of you can go to hell…"

-RADEN'S OFFICE-

"So after he killed Quackerjack, nobody would run?" Cujo asked with a perplexed tilt of his head.

"I wanted to. I thought we could make it," Draco shrugged shamefully.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Draco scoffed snidely in disgust. "I tried to, believe me. But Darkwing wouldn't have it. He was already miffed enough about the idea of a mysterious crime lord taking out other notorious criminals in St. Canard before he could put them behind bars. Nobody argues with Darkwing. They just set their sights on whacking McIntyre…"

-OFFICE BUILDING: DAY-

McIntyre steps into the plush office building, flanked on both sides by a bodyguard. He walked towards the elevator on the far side of the building's lobby, failing to notice the dark, blue, watery eyes watching him that were hidden beneath the brim of a hat. The liquidator watched as McIntyre and his two bodyguards stepped into the elevator, disguised in a high-collar trench coat and matching wide-brimmed hat. A wire is clipped onto the lapel of the trench coat, conveniently positioned in front of his mouth.

"He's coming up," Liquidator spoke into the miniature microphone. "Five out of five elevator maintenance workers agree that he is coming up!"

Darkwing, Draco and Megavolt all stand in front of the three elevator doors on the thirtieth floor, disguised in maintenance worker uniforms. The three elevator shafts were propped open and stranded. Megavolt moved into one of the opened elevators. As the elevator doors began to close, he quickly made a scramble for the hatch above.

Back In the lobby, the elevator finally arrives and the doors open to allow its passengers inside. McIntyre and his two bodyguards casually stepped inside. The guard on his left pushed the button to close the doors and take them to their desired floor. Within seconds, the elevator began to make its ascent.

Suddenly, the ceiling hatch of the elevator sprang open and a gloved hand extended inside. Before any of the men could react, two quick bolts of electricity zapped from the hatch, each hitting their mark of the bodyguards. The two men's bodies convulsed violently with wild gagging noises before they slumped to the floor, either dead or very close to deceased. McIntyre glanced down at the unmoving bodies, not even flinch as if he had been expecting the sudden turn of events.

"Don't move…" came the demanding, nasal voice. McIntyre looked up to see the cynical grin of Megavolt peering in through the hatch at him, his fingers sparking with electricity at the ready. "Press thirty, press it now."

When the elevator opened on the thirtieth floor, McIntyre was greeted by Darkwing and Draco. Megavolt dropped down from the hatch behind him and gave the lawyer a firm push out into the otherwise deserted hallway. Just as Liquidator emerged from an pipeline from overhead to rejoin the others, Darkwing grabbed McIntyre roughly by the arm and began to lead him down the hall, the other three closely in toll.

"The answer is no," Darkwing informed gruffly in referral to the offer they had received from McIntyre courtesy of Negaduck just days earlier.

McIntyre knew immediately what Darkwing was referring to and sighed as he was lead into an empty room that was obviously under construction. It was completely empty and had painting supplied strewn about. "Negaduck will be most…"

"Listen to me, you maniacal miscreant, there is no Negaduck!" Darkwing spat as he jerked him to a stop, he and the three villains surrounding the lawyer to block any means of escape. "If you say his name again, I'll arrest you right here, right now."

"That's a strange threat, considering that I take it you came here to kill me, "McIntyre pointed out matter-of-factly. But he immediately froze as he felt the cold metal of the end of a gun being pressed against the side of his head. Shifting his eyes to the side, he could see that Draco was holding the gun firmly to his temple.

"It's a fair trade for Quackerjack," Megavolt quipped bitterly while he folded his arms over his chest.

Darkwing strolled to the front of McIntyre, since he was prevented from turning his head in either direction due to the gun aimed for his brain. The hero stared him coldly in the eyes, his expression firm. "We know you can get to us, and now you know we can get to you. I'm offering you the chance to call this off."

"Neg…" McIntyre began to answer, but stopped himself when he remembered the threat made towards him just seconds before. "My employer has made up his mind. He does not change it."

"Neither do we," Darkwing shot back snidely.

"You got Quackerjack and you may get more," Megavolt added in a low voice. "But you won't get to us all. Not before one of us gets to you," he threatened.

"And I believe you. Megavolt," McIntyre replied calmly, never once flinching as the gun was pressed against his head. "I quite sincerely do. You would not have been chosen if you were not so capable, but I cannot make this decision. Whatever you can threaten me with is... ludicrous in comparison to what will be done to me if…"

But Megavotl cut him off with another threat. "Just so you know, I'm the guy. I'm the one that's gonna get through to you."

McIntyre heaved his shoulders. By this point, small beads of sweat had begun to take form on his brow. "I am sorry, Megavolt. And I implore that you believe me, Darkwing…" he insisted and stared forward at Darkwing with an almost desperate expression on his face, his voice suddenly taking on a fearful wavering tone. "Negaduck is very real, and very determined…"

"We'll see…" Darkwing responded. The gun being held by Draco suddenly moved from the side of McIntyre's head down to his neck. But the lawyer's eyes never faltered as he managed to keep his cool.

"Before you do me in, Darkwing, you will allow me to finish my business with Miss McCawber, won't you?" McIntyre asked, his question causing Darkwing's eyes to immediately widen. Darkwing took the end of Draco's gun and moved it away from McIntyre's throat until he could get an answer.

"What?"

Even though McIntyre barely budged when the gun's aim was removed form him, he inwardly sighed in relief to himself. "Morgana McCawber. She's in my office to make a statement in a case," he explained, then shrugged. "But no matter. Kill away, Mr. Darkwing."

The three criminals all passed curious glances towards Darkwing, looking for an answer. But the blank expression on Darkwing's face told them that he did not have an answer.

"You're lying," he demanded, not able to come up with a wittier comeback.

"Am I?" McIntyre replied coolly with a tilt of his head before he turned and exited the room. The other four followed him down the hallway, giving each other perplexed expressions. Draco continued to discreetly hold the barrel of the pistol in his hand against the small of McIntyre's back.

They came to a stop in a glass office foyer. McIntyre motions through the glass window as the other four kept themselves concealed around the corner, peering out cautiously. Inside the meeting room on the other side of the glass window was Morgana, sitting at a table with three other men and one other woman. One of the men was a large, handsome, and burly man in a suit standing behind her. Darkwing eyed this man suspiciously.

Noticing his curious expression, McIntyre took the liberty of explaining. "Miss McCawber's escort while she's involved with this case. I thought you would like to know that she is in good hands."

Darkwing tried to hold back his surprised and hurt expression as his mind raced for an alternative. But he found none. He cast his glance downwards towards the floor and slowly shook his head, the three villains watching from behind curiously. Draco slowly lowered his gun from the lawyer without being told, frowning sympathetically in Darkwing's direction.

"Get your rest, gentleman," McIntyre suddenly broke the silence as he turned to face the four of them. "The boat will be ready for you on Friday. If I see you or your friends before then, Miss McCawber will find herself the victim of a gruesome violation before she dies…" he threatened darkly. "Do I make myself clear?"

Darkwing clenched his hands into fists until his knuckles turned red. Inside, he was aching to kill McIntyre with his bare hands.

"I'll take care of the dead men downstairs. We'll add them to the cost of Quackerjack," McIntyre continued before he began to move past them towards the office. "Now if you'll excuse me."

As McIntyre entered his office and greeted Morgana, Darkwing continued to peer inconspicuously around the corner to watch. He didn't notice as Megavolt. Liquidator, and Draco turned to retreat in the direction that they had come.

The hero was forced to stand by and watch, feeling a strange emptiness inside of him as Morgana laughed and conversed with McIntyre and the others in the meeting. For the first time, he felt betrayed by the one he thought he loved.


	11. The Attack

Thought I had abandoned this fic, didn't you?? Sorry it took so long to work on it, it's been a rather busy month. Only about three more chapters left to go so bear with me! Thanks for your reviews and once again I don't own any of the Darkwing Duck characters; Disney does.

CHAPTER 11

Darkwing, Draco, and Megavolt stood atop a hill that overlooked the harbor of the Audubon Bay. The boat they had been instructed to invade later that evening was docked alongside the pier. Several shady characters gathered around the ship while others kept a look-out on the docks. The three waited patiently until they saw a small stream of water snake up the hill from the shore towards the group. It stopped at their feet and took the form of a canine.

Darkwing tilted his head eagerly. "Well?"

"Four out of five master criminals would agree that the situation is a logistical nightmare!" The Liquidator announced regretfully. "Close quarters, no advanced layout, several dozen FOWL eggmen and agents!"

"So what??" Megavolt suddenly chimed in without a tone of fear in his voice. "I'm going in this for the money!"

"And the Liquidator would agree!" Liquidator added proudly.

Draco blinked and turned to stare at the two other criminals, taken aback. "Have you two been paying attention at all? This is practically a suicide mission."

"Welcome to the real world of professional criminals!" Megavolt sneered down at Draco as if he were preaching to a small child. "If I'm going in there, I want a chunk of the money!"

"And the Liquidator…!"

"We know!" Megavolt snapped to cut off his watery comrade.

Darkwing sighed and kept his gaze averted to the boat below rather than on the three criminals. His judgment on the situation was clouded by dozens of thought flowing through his mind. His adopted daughter, Gosalyn, whom he left at home with his sidekick, Launchpad. His career as the fearless crime fighter of St. Canard, fighting to protect the city he loved even if he didn't get the appreciation he solely deserved. And Morgana. His true love. What would she think if she found out that he had stooped to the criminal level? But he had decided. Darkwing had to do this for the protection of the ones he loved. He now knew what carnage Negaduck was capable of.

Draco stared at Megavolt and Liquidator, shocked by what he had just heard. He looked to Darkwing, as if awaiting his decision. The cold store from the crime fighter was the answer. Draco heaved his shoulders in defeat and slowly shook his head.

"I just can't believe we're going to walk into certain death…."

The full moon reflected off of the dark water of the Audubon Bay in the night. The large boat, sleek and yacht-like, was now moored to the pier. Several eggmen scurried about the docks, conveying conversations to one another in indistinct murmurs. Other eggmen and FOWL agents lined the pier and deck of the boat, armed and dangerous while on guard.

Behind am old weathered boat in dry-dock, Darkwing and Draco sat crouched in the shadows. Draco was dressed in black to conceal his bright white feathers while Darkwing was clad in his usual purple costume with the cape and gray fedora underneath a large tan trench coat. The two kept their eyes on the ship and watched the FOWL employees carefully.

Meanwhile, Megavolt was sneakily climbed up a ladder alongside of a boathouse. In the harbor below, a few out of place waves lapped up against another large boat docked at the pier. A pair of dark eyes formed in the water that watched as a van pulled up to the docks. Four FOWL agents dressed in suits climbed out of the van, three of them making their way over toward the guarded boat while one moved to the back of the van where he stopped and remained standing. As the three agents joined up with a group of eggmen and began ton mutter amongst themselves, the Liquidator took advantage of the opportunity to slid out of his hiding place in the water and took his form in the shadows behind the boat. He glanced to the side and made direct eye contact with Darkwing from his hiding spot and nodded.

Catching the Liquidator's signal, Darkwing reached into his jacket and pulled out a walkie-talkie. He pressed the button and spoke in a low voice. "Alright Sparky, you better be ready up there."

"Don't call me Sparky!" Megavolt's voice snapped quietly back over the static of the radio. "And I've been ready! I've been waiting for you and puddle-head to get set up!"

Darkwing ignored Megavolt's complaining as he turned to Draco. He stared at him sincerely and spoke to him in a low, firm voice. "I want you to stay here."

But Draco's eyes went wide in response and shook his head. "But I'm supposed to cover you!" he whispered back and nodded at the large gun in his hands.

"If we don't make it out, I want you to take the money and go."

"Darkwing, I can't just…!"

"I want you to find Morgana and Gosalyn," Darkwing continued and disregarded Draco's protest. "The three of you find someplace safe. Tell them what happened…everything. She'll know what to do. If we can't get McIntyre my way, she'll get him her way."

"But what if…??"

"Just do what I tell you," Darkwing insisted pleadingly. He paused before sighing and getting to his feet. After taking a few cautious steps forward, he stopped and glanced back over his shoulder at Draco, he being the only one of the criminals he found himself able to communicate with. "Tell her I tried…"

Before Draco could respond, Darkwing had disappeared into the dark shadows of the night, stealthily making his way towards the pier. He began to make his way towards the ramp to board the boat but only made it a few yards before the first eggmen spotted him. The eggman muttered to his cohorts and pointed to the approaching figure in the gray fedora and trench coat casually approaching them. The group of eggmen pulled out their firearms and held them at the ready as they began to coolly approach Darkwing. Even as they were approaching, Darkwing remained undaunted with his hands in the pockets of his coat a she finally came to a stop, the eggmen surrounding him.

From above, Megavolt poked his head up from the edge of the boathouse's roof and spotted Darkwing in the circle of FOWL eggmen. The electro-charged rodent lifted his hand and positioned it as if it were a gun, extending his index finger and aiming it down at the group below.

"Ready…Aim…ZAP!" Megavolt announced as he pulled back his thumb like a trigger. A glowing white bolt projected from his index finger and sped through the air, hitting the eggmen that had been standing directly in front of Darkwing. The yellow-suited mallard wearing the white helmet crumpled to the ground as the electrical bolt surrounded him and disappeared within a split second. Before the other eggmen could react, several more bolts of electrical fury tore through the air, each one hitting their mark. One after another, the now panic-stricken eggmen began to fall to the ground as Megavolt continued his accurate fire from the rooftop.

"Take that! And that! And this!" Megavolt shouted triumphantly as the last eggmen fell. "I'll be Public Enemy Number One by the end of the week!"

Once his way was cleared, Darkwing threw off his trench coat to reveal his crime fighting attire and bolted up the ramp to board the boat. The commotion caught the attention of another group of eggmen at the other end of the boat where the Liquidator was keeping himself hidden. He waited until the group of them scurried down the pier to assist before sliding out of the shadow sin a sleep stream of water sliding across the docks rotting boards towards the van that was parked on solid ground.

When Megavolt caught sight of Liquidator moving towards his target, he glanced at the boat once again and eyed the area of the keel where several dozen oil drums were stacked. A wicked grin quickly spread across the rodent's face.

"Bada-boom!" Megavolt cackled as he pointed his finger, aiming at the center of the oil drums and fired a swift bolt of lighting that sped downwards through the air. The drums exploded into a large ball of fire the second the electricity sparked the tin barrels. Screams from the FOWL workers as the stern of the ship was engulfed in flames, attracting their attention and allowing Darkwing to sneakily make his way on board the opposite side of the ship.

"Elvis has left the building!" Megavolt announced triumphantly from his perch atop the boathouse. He snickered giddily before he grabbed a hold of the ladder and swung himself over the edge of the roof, quickly descending downwards to the ground. He stopped when he eyed the mooring cable suspended in the air just behind him and made a quick leap from the ladder. His blue gloved hands grasped the cable tightly as he took a few seconds to gain his balance before climbing hand-over-hand across the cable towards the ship. Once he made it to the starboard side of the ship, he hopped over the railing and onto the deck.

Shouts of panic were still coming from the opposite side of the ship where the fire was still burning brilliantly. Dozens of eggmen and agents were moving quickly in every attempt to put out the flames, giving Megavolt and Darkwing the distractions they needed to get inside the ship and find the money said to be on board. When the task was accomplished, they would leave the ship to be destroyed by the fire with the gun parts inside.

The agent left to stand guard at the van could only glance at the chaos in puzzlement. He knew he couldn't leave his post. His attention was directed towards the flaming boat and did not notice the puddle forming at his feet. Slowly the water began to rise from the puddle and take form of the menacing canine standing directly behind the still unaware agent. Before the agent could know what was about to happen to him, the Liquidator's arm shot out to wrap tightly around his face, covering his nose and mouth. The agent flailed his arms and let out a gurgled scream as he attempted to pull himself free from the villain's surprisingly vice-like grip. His eyes began to vibrate back and forth rapidly while he began to feel dizzy from lack of air.

Finally, the agent's eyes rolled back into his head and went lip in Liquidator's watery hold. The villain scoffed and let the lifeless body slump to the floor.

"One should wait one hour after swimming before engaging in criminal activity to avoid death!" Liquidator quipped smugly as he turned towards the van. He reached out to take a hold of the latches of the van's rear doors and pulled them open. But when it was revealed what was being securely guarded inside the van, Liquidator instantly frowned. There was no money. Or guns. Instead, there was several bags and crates full of fertilizer.

Before Liquidator could get another thought about the situation, his vision suddenly became clouded. He coughed as he tried to clear his eyes and stared down at his hands to see a gritty gray substance quickly spreading throughout his liquid anatomy. Realization hit him and his eyes went wide as he let out a startled gasp. Cement. QUICK drying cement.

He spun around to face his attacker, but his movements were already beginning to become slow and sluggish. Slowly, he managed to lift his head as his head while his body turned a light, solid gray from it's pure bright blue. As Liquidator stared into the face the one responsible, his brow furrowed into a fearful and shocked expression. His body completely solidified before he could utter another gasp, now frozen as a cement statue.

CRASH!

A sledgehammer suddenly came plowing down on the top of the Liquidator's head. The force was intense enough to shatter the statue into thousands of pieces. Liquidator's demise.

Megavolt ran like a wild man across the deck, heading for the hatch and unaware of Liquidator's end. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Darkwing entering one of the ship's quarters, his gas gun drawn. The rodent looked quickly to either side of him before darting towards the left. Rounding the corner, he bumped into a suited FOWL agent, causing the both of them to stumble backwards.

"Megavolt!" the agent exclaimed. The shout achieved the attention of four other eggmen that hurriedly made there way towards the two.

As the agent reached for his own gun inside of his jacket, Megavolt pulled out his electro-gun and fired without aiming. But it was a good shot which hit the agent directly in the chest. He instantly crumpled to the ground and gasped, a spasm tearing through his body before he went lax. The eggmen who had been rushing to the fallen agent's aid instantly skidded to a stop and stared with wide eyes at Megavolt.

Megavolt held up his electro-gun with a smirk, sparks dancing around its pointed tip. The eggmen gasped simultaneously before frantically trying to retrace their steps to retreat. But in their panic, they only succeeded in bumping into one another. Megavolt snickered wickedly before holding his electro-gun up once again.

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP ZAP!

The four bodies slumped to the floor in a heap on top of one another. Seeing no other confronters in sight, Megavolt stuck the gun back into the holster on his utility belt and eyed a ladder that descended into the boat's turbine room. Without hesitating, he scampered over to the ladder and made his way below.

Meanwhile. Draco still remained at the edge of the pier in his hiding place, clutching the large gun in his hands tightly. He was wrestling with what to do. The shouts and sounds of Megavolt's weaponry echoed through the air over the roaring of the blaze still burning at the ship's stern.

His conscience got the better of him. Draco got to his feet and glanced cautiously from behind the boat to be sure that he would not be seen. No one in sight. Taking a deep breath, he limped as quickly as he could to the other side of the boathouse, trying to make the dragging sound of his limp foot as quiet as possible. An agent suddenly stepped out from behind a pillar of crates and spotted Draco shuffling across the docks.

"Hey!" the agent shouted and quickly pulled out his gun to take aim. Draco's eyes went wide and he let out a stifled gasp as he heard the gunshot. Luckily, he managed to duck just in time. The bullet pierced a barrel of gasoline from behind him.

The agent was preparing to fire again, seeing that he missed his target. But Draco was quick to retaliate and lifting his own gun. With his single uncovered eye, he took accurate aim and pulled the trigger. The agent yelped and his arms flailed to his sides. The gun in his hand clattered to the ground as he stumbled backwards and over the edge of the dock. A splash followed as the body hit the water.

Draco paused and stared, as if making sure that the agent was dead. Finally, he turned and continued his way down the ramp leading from the dock to the pier. But he stopped as he heard the sound of rapid footsteps approaching. He quickly ducked behind a guardrail of the ramp as three more eggmen ran past, not taking notice of him. When they were out of sight, Draco stepped out from behind the rail and came to the parked van.

He stepped around the back corner of the van but stopped when he heard a discrete crunching sound from underneath his feet. Draco lifted his foot up to see that he had been stepping on small shards of concrete. A perplexed expression appeared on his face until his eyes fell on a much larger piece of cement. When he bent down to get a better look at the markings on the chunk of concrete, his eyes went wide. The Liquidator's face. Frozen in a permanent stare of fright. Draco stumbled back several steps and glanced around frantically in fear.

"Why didn't you run?" Cujo asked with curious suspicion in his voice.

Draco gave his shoulders a short shrug, keeping his stare downcast on the carpet of the office. "I froze up. I thought about Quackerjack and how he looked when we buried him. And then I though about Darkwing. He looked as if he might pull it off."

There was a knock at the door. Raden stuck his head inside and made eye contact with Cujo, motioning for him to step outside. Cujo looked down at Draco, who did not look up at him, and then followed Raden outside of the office and into the hall, closing the office door behind him.

Agent Bear came around the corner and joined the two in the hall, handing Cujo a thick manila folder. Cujo raised an eyebrow curiously before he began to thumb through the folder. "What's this?"

"A boy came across a body on the beach this morning that was thrown clear when the boat exploded," Bear informed somewhat reluctantly. "He as shot twice in the head. Some guys from the FBI just identified him."

"And?"

"Remember Dr. Reginald Bushroot? The university scientist-turned-mutant plant duck?"

"Yes. What about him?" Cujo asked exasperatedly.

"Well, that body WAS him. He reeked of burning vegetables when he was pulled out of the water this morning. Apparently, the bullets he was shot with were pumped pull of weed killer which killed him almost instantly."

Cujo stared at Bear for a long moment, waiting for him to say it was a practical joke. "But Bushroot hasn't participated in criminal activity for years now."

"Exactly," Bear confirmed with a nod. "Word has it on the streets that he was working on reforming and redirecting his life towards botany. But he was having a little bit of trouble getting back on the good side of society. So he confided in a St. Canard local who was also an ex-villain. A witch or sorceress."

There was a short pause. Cujo looked up at Bear knowingly. "Morgana?"

Bear nodded to confirm. "Yes. Apparently, she was quite determined to help Bushroot, believing that he could really reform. She even went through the trouble of tracking down a lawyer suitable to help him rebuild his reputation and erase his criminal history in St. Canard."

"McIntyre?"

This time Raden nodded and continued to explain. "I called in to the county to receive a copy of Bushroot's testimony. He was a rat, a stool pigeon. That was the only way he was going to receive the acceptance he wanted from the city. He was so desperate for acceptance and opposed to going back to prison that he informed on close to fifty top criminals. Guess who he named in finale?"

Cujo read over one of the pages of the file in his head and blinked before raising his gaze. "Negaduck?"

"And there's more," Bear added. Cujo seemed to sigh as if this case would never end…

Cujo walked back into the office and sat in front of Draco on the top of his desk. He leaned forward until he was eye level with the mallard, his eyes narrowed in an annoyed stare. Draco stared at him, puzzled.

"I'll tell you what I know. Stop me when it sounds familiar," Cujo sneered and leaned even closer. "There were no guns on that boat…."


	12. Fallen Hero

Again, sorry it's taking me so long to update this. The summer is proving to be a busy one and I've been falling ill frequently due to the heat. But it's almost finished; only two, maybe three more chapters left. And since I'm still figuring out format, I put subtitles to signify scene changes so you're less confused. Hope that helps. Thanks for your reviews!

CHAPTER 12

DOCKS

Darkwing weaved through the tight, low-ceiling corridors of the boat, looking in every cabin on his way towards the turbine room. He came across the occasional eggman, which was nothing that a shot of sleeping gas from his gas gun couldn't handle.

Elsewhere in the boat, Megavolt was also tearing through corridor after corridor, the shouts and screams of the FOWL eggmen and agents echoing through the hallways. But the look in his eyes proved that Megavolt was looking for the sources of the shouts. The villain seemed less interested in securing the cargo as he was in killing everyone onboard. He could scream like a lunatic, firing his electro-gun at anyone who crossed his path, leaving fallen eggmen in his path.

Steelbeak poked his head cautiously out of one of the cabins as Megavolt passes, checking both left and right for any sign of other enemies. Seeing none, he quickly bustled his way out of the cabin, dragging someone with bright purple hair and a green complexion behind him. Bushroot panted nervously as he did his best to keep up with the rooster.

"Where are you taking me??" Bushroot demanded in a panic. His eyes darted back and forth insecurely.

"I'm puttin' youse somewhere dat youse will be safe until we's can get outta here!" Steelbeak answered quickly as he continued down the boat's deck. Finally, they stopped in front of another cabin door. Steelbeak turned the lever of the metal door while Bushroot stood by, trembling in fear. A gunshot in the distance made the plant duck yelp and jump in surprise.

The door creaked open loudly followed by Steelbeak hastily shoving Bushroot inside. "Now, keeps quiet until I come back for youse!"

"He's here…" Bushroot suddenly spoke in a loud whisper. "I saw him on the deck!"

Steelbeak ignored the duck's panicked rants and quickly closed the cabin door with a loud 'clang!'. Bushroot absently sat down on the small cot directly across from the door, his eyes wide as he slowly began to shake his head.

"He's here!" he shouted through the closed door. "I'm telling you, it's Negaduck!!!"

Darkwing came to the four-foot high door to the hold. The door was opened slightly, which he found rather strange. He pushed the door open and cautiously stepped inside, finding the hold completely empty. A look of pure frustration spread across Darkwing's face, which instantly disappeared when he heard a noise form behind him. When he spun around, Megavolt was standing in the doorframe, an expression of satisfied sanity on his face and covered in blood.

"That's a shocking experience thos FOWL morons won't forget!" Megavolt laughed wickedly.

Darkwing rolled his eyes and rolled his eyes impatiently at the villain actually enjoying this escapade. "You really are a electrical idiot, Sparky."

"DON'T CALL ME SPARKY!" Megavolt raged, clenching his fists angrily at his side. But he immediately calmed himself. "Did you hear what I heard?"

"You mean the mixed sounds of terrified screams and gunfire?" Darkwing asked while rubbing his temples stressfully, knowing those sounds would haunt his dreams for years to come.

"Besides that! Negaduck is on the boat."

Darkwing stopped and looked up at Megavolt with a disbelieving stare. "What?"

"Didn't you hear me, Deafwing?? Negaduck is on the boat somewhere!" Megavolt snapped; there was a slight timid tone in his voice that he was attempting to suppress. "I heard someone screaming his head off."

"Perfect…" Darkwing groaned, running a hand down his face. He looked at Megavolt, his expression actually holding the tiniest bit of concern. "Are you alright?" he asked and motioned to the blood splattered on the rodent's face.

Megavolt blinked, having not noticed until he ran a hand down his face. The blood smeared onto his blue glove. "Oh, it's not my blood. But I don't think I've ever been so energetic in years!"

"Well, I hate to pull your plug, Sparky. There's no guns on this boat! Aside from the ones being carried by the FOWL personnel, that is!" Darkwing reported reluctantly.

Megavolt looked around the hold as though he would he would see dozens of crates filled with firearms that Darkwing would have missed. He redirected his stare back at Darkwing, the two of them staring at one another for a long, pregnant silence.

"Let's make like an old light bulb and 'go out'…" Megavolt finally spoke up in one of his electrical analogies.

Darkwing raised an eyebrow. "I hope you meant 'get out'…." he corrected for him. "But I'm right behind you!"

The two of them quickly stepped out of the hold but made sure to move carefully in the direction from where they had come. They heard the sounds of footsteps running on the deck above and the occasional hollered sentence.

"Where's Liquidator?" Darkwing asked, just now remembering the other villain.

"I don't think he even made it on the boat…" Megavolt answered the hero who lead the way down a hallway to the right.

Gunshots filled the hallway from behind them. Darkwing didn't stop to turn around but Megavolt did take a quick glance over his shoulder. In doing so, he got separated from Darkwing when the mallard took a left turn and he took a right, the sound of gunfire seeming right behind them.

In the cabin, Bushroot remained sitting nervously on the cot, staring forward at the door with wide eyes. He could hear the sounds of fighting not far away. His eyes wandered about the cabin uneasily.

Suddenly, the cabin door's handle slowly turned. Bushroot's eyes snapped back towards the door; his breathing had turned into heaving panting. As the door opened, it revealed Steelbeak. But his blonde feathers were stained with thick trails of blood running down his face and neck. The rooster fell to the cold metal floor in a heap.

Bushroot stared down at the fallen FOWL agent in a wide eyed stare of fear. The light illuminating the dead body slowly disappeared as a shadow stepped into the doorframe, standing over the body. The plant duck slowly lifted his head to face Steelbeak's murderer. Realization and terror overcame his face, a gasp escaping his throat as he attempted to find his voice.

"I…I told them nothing…I swear!" Bushroot whimpered pleadingly and lifted his leafy hands in defense. The attacker's arm slowly raised, a pistol in his hand as Bushroot continued to beg. "I told them nothing! Please…!"

BLAM! BLAM BLAM!

The entire boat suddenly became quiet. Darkwing walked back out onto the deck, noticing that Megavolt was no longer behind him. He looked over the pier and saw Draco, still standing at the van. Their eyes locked and Darkwing waved his arm frantically to shoo him away. Draco hesitated before finally bending down to agent that Liquidator had drowned earlier, beginning to frantically search his jacket pockets for the keys to the van.

Darkwing heard a shuffling sound from behind him and spun around, drawing his gas gun. But it was Megavolt who stepped into view, exiting one of the long corridors. Darkwing sighed and lowered his gas gun as Megavolt slowly approached him. There was a big smile on his face something not seeming quite right…

"Sparky, what's going on?"

Megavolt stopped several feet in front of Darkwing and smirked. "The strangest thing…"

Before Darkwing could find out what his crazy nemesis was talking about, Megavolt suddenly fell forward to the ground, landing on his face. Darkwing jumped back in surprise. When he squinted his eyes and stepped closer to get a better look in the dark, he could see the handle end of a large knife sticking out of the back of Megavolt's neck. A few sparks flashed from his sparkplug helmet and battery pack before ceasing completely.

Darkwing gulped, the fear finally sinking into his mind. He cautiously stepped forward towards Megavolt's now lifeless body in case it was a double-cross plan of playing dead. But he didn't move. Darkwing kneeled down beside the fallen villain. His eyes narrowed hatefully as he began to tremble in rage. After a moment, he stood up again, staring down at the dead body.

Draco was still in the process of trying to locate the keys to the van. He paused for a moment to look up and locate Darkwing. He spotted him standing on the pier. But then his gaze shifted upwards to the boat's deck, realizing something. Draco's eyes widen and he looked to find Darkwing again. He was too late to warn him.

BLAM!

Darkwing reeled around, sending his fedora flying from it's place on his head. He never saw the shot coming from the boat deck until he felt the bullet pierce the center of his back. He stumbled over his feet before crumpling to the ground, slumping against a large crate. The only sound that came form his bill was a painful groan. When he tried to painstakingly get back to his feet, Darkwing found that he could not move his legs. Thy bullet had probably pierced his spine.

Draco opened his bill but no sound came out. He slowly shook his head in disbelief as he witnessed Darkwing fall. Panicking, he ran down the ramp and away from the van as fast as he could on his lame foot, which was nothing more than a limping shuffle. The gun was still clutched tightly in his hands for protection, although he believed it wouldn't be help to him at this point. He came to a rope ladder hanging down the side of the boat. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks and looked up the side of the boat to the deck.

From where he stood, he could make out the form of a rather short white mallard in a cape and wide-brimmed hat walking along the deck. He moves quietly and calmly among the shadows towards the boat's boarding ramp. The boat's deck lights illuminated the figures outfit. He looked rather out of place wearing a bright yellow, double-breasted suit with a red turtleneck underneath. The black cape and red fedora topped off his attire. But his face remained hidden in the shadow of the fedora's wide brim.

Draco found himself unable to move, not yet noticed by the new mallard. Something about him terrified him….

RADEN'S OFFICE

"And that's what you said you saw in your statement," Cujo read form the transcript in his hand. "That you saw a rather short mallard in a yellow suit, cape, and fedora."

Draco did a double take and looked up at Cujo questionably. "Wait a minute…"

"I don't have a minute!" Cujo snapped, beginning to become aggravated. "Now are you telling me that you saw Negaduck? Because you told the D.A. that you didn't know who it was!"

At this point, Draco was drowning in Cujo's interrogation, beginning to look rather dazed. "I….I know there were guns to be traded on that boat."

"Stop stalling, Draco! You know what I'm getting at!"

"I don't…"

"Yes, you do!" Cujo roared. Now his patience was gone and he slammed the report down on the desk, causing Draco to jump in alarm. "You know what I'm getting at! The truth! Try to tell me you didn't know! Try to tell me you saw someone try to kill Darkwing!"

For the first time, Draco tried to stand and move away from Cujo, feeling intimidated and threatened by his demands. But Cujo jumps to his feet, quickly moving in front of Draco to block his way and remain in his face. He backed the mallard into a corner, who retaliated by closing his uncovered eye and holding his hands up in front of him.

"I know EVERYTHING!" Cujo shouted in his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about…!" Draco insisted while keeping his arms up protectively in front of him.

"Yes, you do! You've known this whole fucking time! Give it to me!"

Draco lowered his arms and looked up into Cujo's eyes with genuine terror. The brown fur on Cujo's face had turned a light shade of red and his body trembled in anger. His heavy, locomotive breathing is the only sound in the room.

"I don't understand what you're saying…." Draco repeated softly, his eyes not even blinking. "I saw Darkwing get shot, I SWEAR to you!"

"Then why didn't you help him?? You had a gun! He was your friend!"

Cujo's question caught Draco off guard. His expression held pure remorse as he answered disdainfully. "Because I was afraid. Okay? Somehow I knew it was Negaduck at that point. I couldn't bring myself to raise my gun at that point."

"But Darkwing…"

"I knew it was Negaduck!" Draco cut him off insistently, desperate for Cujo to believe him. "It was Negaduck, Agent Cujo. I mean the Devil himself! How do you shoot the Devil in the back?" he asked and paused to point to the black eye patch covering his right eye.

"What if you miss…?"


	13. Negaduck Revealed

One more chapter left after this one. I must say the last two chapters are the best and I hope you enjoy the close of this fiction. Thanks for your reviews!

CHAPTER 13

DOCKS

Draco was hiding in a tangle of girders and cables on the deck. From where he was, Darkwing's body was completely obscured. The duck in the cape on the boat's deck lifted a bucket and poured it's contents over the rail, spilling water onto a small stream of fire snaking it's way across the dock towards a stack of oil drums. The fire sizzled before being reduced to a small puff of smoke. Negaduck coolly continued his way across the deck and down the boat's boarding ramp while reaching into his jacket, retrieving a small lighter that glinted in the glow of the fire from the ship. He walked over to Darkwing's fallen body and stood over him; his face remained hidden under the brim of his fedora.

The two mallards exchanged words for a moment, followed by Negaduck next removing the pistol from his jacket. He aimed the gun between Darkwing's eyes…

Red and blue lights flashed from behind Draco, stealing his attention from the confrontation of the other two ducks. He spun around as the blaring sirens of police cars started to become louder and louder with each passing second.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

Draco heard the shots and spun back around to face the docks from his hiding place. He turned just in time to see Negaduck running across the dock towards the gangway, squinting his eyes to try and make out the features on the murderer's face. But he could not.

Negaduck stopped long enough to flip open the lighter and ignite it's flame, the soft glow illuminating his fiery eyes. The villain then carelessly tossed the lighter over his shoulder and continued on his way. The flame met the spilled oil on the dock. Just as the entire pier was engulfed into flames, Negaduck had disappeared into the darkness.

The sirens were close now, mixed with the sound of fire raging out of control. Tires were squealing on the pavement followed by shouting and feet pounding across the ground.

RADEN'S OFFCIE:

"Doctor Reginald Bushroot, ever hear of him?" Cujo asked as he walked behind Draco's chair in which he was sitting, holding an open file in his hand.

Draco blinked once, confused. "Wha…? No."

"He was a botanist at St. Canard University until one of his experiments on himself went horribly wrong, mutating him into a half plant-half duck freak," Cujo explained calmly. "When he became a social outcast due to his transformation, he turned to villainy. According to other criminals in St. Canard, Bushroot couldn't cut it in the villain department due to his sentimental behaviors. He spent a few years pulling crimes for his scientific purposes up until a few months ago. Finally, he decided to come clean to the city. But when he turned himself over to the police to plead guilty and want to start with a clean slate, he saw that it wasn't going to be easy to be accepted into society after his crimes and his mutated form. So he was made a deal with the D.A. that in exchange for a proper place in society, he would serve some minor jail time AND play the role of stool pigeon. He claimed that he had seen and could positively identify Negaduck."

"I never heard of him."

"Figuring that he would never have a shot to be seen as a normal citizen in St. Canard, he decided to give up on that dream when he was offered a deal by FOWL," Cujo continued. "FOWL offered Bushroot root a place in their organization and protection from Negaduck. No one was at the docks for guns that night. FOWL was there to meet Bushroot and buy him and his information on Negaduck in order to bring the mallard down. That's what the fertilizer in the van was for as part of Bushroot's demand."

"I said I never heard of him…." Draco repeated insistently.

Cujo stopped at Draco's left and stared down at him matter-of-factly. "But Darkwing did. Morgana McCawber was also an ex-criminal who had come clean. Bushroot sought confidence and guidance in Morgana to help him get through the hardships of the process. She was sympathetic towards him and did what she could to help him. And Bushroot told her everything. She knew who he was and what he knew."

"I don't…"

"There were no guns to be traded on that boat," Cujo interrupted and dropped the file onto the desktop. "It was a hit. A SUICIDE MISSION to whack out the one guy who could finger Negaduck. So Negaduck put a few thieves into it, men he knew he would walk into certain death.

Draco stared up at Cujo, his brow furrowing in confusion. "But how…? Wait, you're saying that Negaduck s-sent us to kill someone?" he asked uneasily.

"I'm saying Darkwing did."

There was a long pause. Draco couldn't grasp what he was saying; he squinted trying to understand while Cujo continued to explain.

"Draco, he left you behind for a reason. If you all knew that Negaduck could find you no matter where you went, then why did he tell you to go when he could of used you on the boat?"

"Because….Because he wanted me to live…" Draco answered, staring blankly at the desk in front of him..

"Why did he want to live?" Cujo asked rhetorically as he circled around behind the chair. "A shady, suspicious, ego-driven crime fighter finds it in his heart to save a worthless rat-cripple criminal? No, sir! Why??"

Draco paused, thinking hard. "Morgana…."

Cujo sneered snidely at the idea. "I don't buy the story that the city's 'loyal crime fighter' would date an ex-master criminal for a minute! And even if I did, I wouldn't believe that he would send YOU to protect her! So why??"

By now, Draco was desperately trying to come up with the right answer. The pressure caused him to choke on a sob as he answered again. "Because he was my friend…!"

"No, he WASN'T your friend, Draco! Darkwing didn't have friends!" Cujo declared as he stepped in front of the criminal who was beginning to break down before him. "He saved you because he wanted it that way; it was his will!"

Draco grinds to a mental halt, trying to grasp the implication. Suddenly, it hit him. "No…"

Cujo stared at him sincerely through narrowed eyes. "Darkwing was Negaduck!"

"No…." Draco demanded as Cujo continued to reinforce his statement.

"Yes, he was! He was the kind of man who could wrangle the minds of men like Liquidator and Megavolt! The kind of man who could engineer a police line-up through all his years of SHUSH contacts!"

Draco shook his head in denial and anger, trying to block out the words he didn't want to hear. The image of Darkwing standing on the pier appeared in his mind, only now wearing a costume in red, yellow, and black. He could see the features of his face now, alike in every detail. He saw him lift his arm with a pistol clutched tightly in his hand, the familiar look of determination in his face. "No, no, no, no., no….!!"

"The kind of man who could of killed Morgana McCawber!"

BANG!

The sound of the gun firing echoed in Draco's head as the image vanished. A strange look crossed his face, one of shock or revelation. He lifted his gaze to Cujo questionably, hoping he didn't hear right.

Reading his expression, Cujo continued calmly. "She was found in a hotel yesterday, shot twice in the head. So what do you think of Darkwng now, Draco?"

Draco's eyes began to swell, it finally beginning to sink in with him. His voice cracked as he fought back hurt tears. "Morgana…?"

"He left you behind for you to tell us that he was dead. You said you saw him die, right?" Cujo asked, then paused. "Or did you? You had to hide when you first heard the police cars. You heard the shot just before the fire but you didn't see him die."

"I knew him! He would never…" Draco stated confidently, trying to deny the factual truth.

But Cujo reluctantly shook his head in reply. The agent was beginning to feel sorry for Draco, who had put so much trust in Darkwing. "He programmed you to tell us just what he wanted you to tell us. Customs has been investigating him for years. His reputation as the city's mysterious crime fighter had taken a dive within the past few years. He needed a new way to recover his reputation and trust in the city, not to mention his ego. So he created another alter-ego, one that he could use to strike terror into the innocent citizens. And then when the time was right, he would make the monster Negaduck disappear in a heroic act, defeated by Darkwing Duck to rebuild his image. But Bushroot unintentionally stumbled upon this information and Darkwing knew what he had to do before his corrupt plan was revealed. That's where the political pressure was coming from. Why are you being protected? It's Darkwing making sure that you'll tell us what you're supposed to. Immunity was your reward!"

"But why me?!?!" Draco demanded, his sobs now escaping his throat. "Why not Liquidator or Megavolt?? I'm stupid, I'm a cripple! Why ME?!?!"

Cujo sighed and heaved his shoulders, nodding slowly. "Because you're a cripple, Draco. Because you're stupid. Because you're weaker than them. Because you couldn't see far enough into him to see the truth like they could have."

Draco had begin crying, feeling completely betrayed. He continued to shake his head with his eyes closed, still not wanting to face the truth.

"If he's dead, Draco…If what you say is true, then it won't matter," Cujo pointed out and began to use a softer tone. "It was Darkwing's idea to hit the Taxi Service, wasn't it?"

"It was all Darkwing…!" Draco finally admitted and nodded his head. His words were mixed with desperate sobs. "We followed him from the beginning! I didn't know; I saw him die! I believe he's dead…Oh, Christ…!"

Cujo smiled in triumphant satisfaction. "Then why lie about everything else?"

Draco looked up at Cujo, the tears streaming down his face and leaving damp trails on his white feathers. "You know what it's like, Agent Cujo? To know you'll never be good? Not good like YOU? I grew up knowing I was never going to be good at anything 'cause I was a cripple. Shit, I wasn't even a good thief! But I thought the one thing I could be good at was a keeping my mouth shut - keeping the code. I didn't want to tell you for my dignity, that's all, and you robbed me, Agent Cujo….You robbed me…."

Cujo stifled a slight smirk, ignoring Draco's accusation. He reached under his tie and removed a small microphone that had been concealed. Draco's eyes went wide, once again being betrayed.

"You're not safe on your own."

Draco continued to stare into Cujo's eyes, searching for some genuine honestly. "Do you think he's…?"

"Negaduck?" Cujo finished for him. He paused and shook his head. "I don't know, Draco. It seems like Negaduck is a shield. Like you said, a spook story. But I know Darkwing. And someone out there is pulling strings for you. Stay here and let us protect you."

"No way. I'm not bait! I post today…"

"You posted twenty minutes ago," Cujo corrected immediately. "Captain Leo wants you out of here A.S.A.P. unless you turn State's."

Draco shook his head insistently, having his mind set on finally putting everything behind him. "I'll take my chances, thank you!"

"And where are you going to go, Draco?" Cujo asked, actually quite curious to hear his answer and somewhat concerned for his safety. "You're gong to run? If somebody wants to get yo9u, they WILL get you out there."

"Maybe so…." Draco answered as he looked up at Cujo with a hurt expression, slowly trying to harden his stare defensively. "But I'm not a rat, Agent Cujo! I won't keep my mouth shut because I'm scared. I'll keep it shut because I let Darkwing down by getting caught. Morgana, too. And if they kill me, it will be because they heard I dropped a dime…and they'll probably hear it from you…"

Draco slowly got to his feet, taking a moment to gain his balance on his crippled foot. He tried to muster his shattered dignity as he shuffled towards the door and pushed it open. For once, Cujo couldn't bring himself to look at Draco. But Draco turned around to face Cujo once more, who noticed his stare and lifted his eyes to meet his. The mallard glared bitterly and shook his head in disgrace.

"Fucking cops…"

With that said, Draco turned and began to limp his way down the hallway.

NOTE: One more chapter to go! It will be up very soon and DON'T miss it; it's a mandatory read.


	14. The Greatest Trick

This is the final chapter. Hope you've enjoyed reading and thank you for your reviews!

HOSPITAL:

A SHUSH agent emerges from the FOWL eggmen's room in the intensive care ward of the hospital. In his hand is a single sheet of white paper with the colored composite sketch on it. He glanced down at the sketch and tilted his head with interest as he approached the nurse's desk, leaning over the counter to speak to the nurse on duty.

"Excuse me, may I use your fax machine?"

POLICE STATION:

As Draco made his way out the station's front door, struggling to make his way down the stairs to the sidewalk with his lame foot. Agent Bear passed by the cripple before he made his exit and wandered passed the fax machine. A 'beep!' sounded from the machine, bringing Bear to a stop to read the message on the screen that said 'RECEIVING.'

RADEN'S OFFICE:

Back in Raden's office, Agent Cujo sat on the top of the desk with a fresh cup of coffee in his hand. A look of disappoint was apparent on his face as he stared forward at the bulletin board on the wall. Raden was sitting in the chair behind the desk and sighed while shuffling through mounds of unorganized paperwork.

"You still don't know anything," Raden commented in regards to the case.

"I know what I wanted to know about Darkwing Duck," Cujo corrected before taking a sip from his coffee.

"Which is nothing."

Cujo shook his head in response. "It doesn't matter. He'll have to know how close we came."

Raden kept his gaze averted from his partner and focused on attempted to clean the top of his desk. "Negaduck or no Negaduck, if Darkwing's alive, he'll never come up again."

"I'll find him," Cujo insisted with confidence, bringing the coffee mug to his mouth again.

"A rumor is not a rumor that doesn't die," Raden mumbled more so to himself.

Overhearing his comment, Cujo tilted his head with a suspicious raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Err...nothing."

Cujo shook his head with a slight amused smile. He gestured to the desk. "Man, you're a slob."

"You want a real horror show?" Raden asked snidely. "You should see my garage."

Cujo smirked, finally beginning to loosen up from the day's events. He returned his gaze to the bulletin board again and continued to sip his coffee. His eyes scanned over the board, reading the various wanted adds, newspaper articles, and magazine clippings. While he seemed to not be looking at anything at all, he was lost in thought.

Outside the police station, Draco managed to descend the challenging stairs successfully and stepped onto the crowded sidewalk of St. Canard. He glanced up and down the sidewalk before deciding to turn right and shuffle on his way. Cars choke in front of the police department as they wait for passengers. But one car that was parked across the street, a black sedan, noticed the crippled mallard exit the building. The driver wore a pair of sunglasses to help shield his face and features, even though it was a rather cloudy day. The car was put into drive and pulled out into the street, slowly following his target....

Raden began to hum as he started sorting the scattered papers on his desk into piles. Cujo continued to stare blankly at the bulletin board in front of him. Suddenly, his face changed. The canine leaned forward and squinted his eyes to see better. His face changes again. First a look of puzzlement, confusion...and then realization.

The coffee mug he had been holding in his hands slipped from his fingers which had suddenly gone numb. The cheap porcelain mug hit the floor and shattered into pieces, splashing coffee everywhere. Raden snapped out of his focus and stared up at him questionably.

Cujo is still staring not at what's on the bulletin but the bulletin board itself. His eyes follow the aluminum frame mounted firmly on the wall. While most people would be focused on the board's vast size and sturdiness or the disregarded facts and notes pinned on it, Cujo's eyes were focusing on the manufacturer's sticker in the lower left-hand corner.

Draco's voice was suddenly repeating in his head.

'You know, back when I was involved in that barbershop quartet in Duckburg...."

Cujo read the manufacturing sticker over and over again to be sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. It read "QUARTET: Duckburg."

He couldn't believe it. Cujo's eyes flashed all over the board. Next, his gaze fell onto an ld newspaper article on the board with the headline: "BARBERSHOP Robbed Leaving Two Dead."

A magazine article in the upper right corner caught his attention quickly. Cujo's eyes narrowed to read the title of the article: "GUATEMALA: Ideal Vacation Sights." Draco's voice was in his head again.

'Back when I was picking fresh beans in Guatemala...'

Cujo's eyes were fixed in a wide-eyed, disbelieving stare. He shook his head in denial until he glanced downwards at the shattered porcelain by his feet. Tiny red print was still readable on a large chunk of ceramic facing upwards. There were two words on the piece of porcelain.

McIntyre Porcelain.

Realization filled Cujo's eyes as he jumped to his feet and sprinted out of the office, leaving a dumbfounded Raden behind. He ran past Agent Bear who was still standing by the fax machine. A piece of paper was in the process of being printed from the fax.

Draco continued to make his way down the street, trying to avoid people walking in the opposite direction as best he can. He glanced over his shoulder, noticing the police station becoming further and further away. A sad sigh escaped his bill as he made his way down the sidewalk, not noticing the black car creeping on the street behind him.

Cujo burst out the police station's front doors and looked around frantically. He began to pant, already feeling short of breath. A police officer was standing beside the front door to enjoy a cigarette.

"The cripple! Did you see which way he went??" Cujo asked the officer desperately. The words were spat out so quickly that the officer passed him a puzzled expression. "The cripple! Which way did he go??"

"Oh! The crippled mallard?" the police officer deduced and looked towards the busy sidewalk. "He....He went that way, I think." He pointed to the right in the direction Draco had disappeared.

The sidewalk was crowded with dozens and dozens of people. Cujo shook his head as he ran down the steps. He attempted to push his way through the crowds of people while looking for any sign of the mallard. But he was nowhere in his sight. The throngs of citizens obstructed his view. Cujo grunted and shouted while shoving people aside, looking in all directions.

Further ahead, the car continued to follow the limping duck. The driver's hand tapped the steering wheel patiently as his eyes followed Draco fumbling through the crowds. Draco moved through the people, not knowing that Agent Cujo was several hundred feet behind him and trying to catch up.

Suddenly, as Draco's feet hobbled along the curb, his twisted lame left foot seemed to relax a little. The inward angle straightened itself out as he continued to stagger over the sidewalk. Within a few paces, he was gliding across the pavement effortlessly on two perfectly formed feet as if there was never anything wrong.

Draco came to a stop on the sidewalk, no longer standing in a haunch now that his limp had suddenly disappeared. His hand came up and took a hold of the elastic band holding the black patch over his right eye. He removed the eye patch, revealing his bright green eye matching his left with absolutely no deformities or sign of blindness. Blinking to adjust his eye to the sudden brightness, Draco tossed the eye patch into the nearby garbage can.

Back inside the police station, the fax had finally finished spitting out the colored composite sketch into Agent Bear's hand. He tilted his head and examined the picture curiously. The drawing was of a white mallard with features strikingly similar to Darkwing's own; only he wore a black mask and red fedora and turtleneck. And his eyes were a bright green, in contrast to Darkwing's known blue eyes. The composite looked more like Draco than Darkwing...

Draco reached into the pocket of the jacket he was wearing and retrieved an item in his hand. He stroked the material in his hand momentarily before lifting the black mask up to his face, tying it securely around his face. A triumphant and absolute evil grin crept across his bill. His eyes were narrowed in an expression of pure deviance through the black mask, the people moving around him not even noticing and too involved in their own busy lives.

The black sedan pulled up to the curbside to Draco's left and came to a stop. Draco noticed the arrival and stealthily stepped to the edge of the sidewalk. He flung the door open and sat down in the passenger's seat, promptly closing the door behind him. In the driver's seat, McIntyre smiled at Draco, who nodded in reply.

The car was put into drive and pulled away from the curb and back into the street just as Agent Cujo skidded to a halt only feet from where Draco had been standing a moment before. He was glancing back and forth, looking in all directions. Cujo began to curse angrily under his breath in defeat to find him nowhere in sight. Draco's voice came into his head once again just as the sedan turned a corner down the street and out of view.

'The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And like that, he's gone....'

THE END

Now for the disclaimer. All original Darkwing duck characters mentioned are copyright by Disney. All other characters mentioned are based off of those created my Christopher McQuarrie except for Molly Dove, who appears courtesy of Amanda Raymond. 'The Usual Suspects' was written by Christopher McQuarrie. 'The Unusual Suspects' is a Darkwing duck crossover written by ME, 2004.


End file.
